Things Change
by SlayerFest5
Summary: Buffy was the best slayer to exist in her time until she was turned. Two hundred years later, Faith is the slayer protecting Sunnydale with her watcher and his son, Spike. Guess who's coming to town with a mission? ON HIATUS, being re-written.
1. Chapter 1

Full sumary-

Buffy was the best slayer to exist in her time. Which was back in 1800. That was until she was turned. But Buffy's no ordinary vampire. Now it's 2007 and Faith's the slayer, protecting Sunnydale with her watcher, Giles. His son, Spike, is the object of her obsession. Literally. Too bad Spike's not interested. He's looking for the love of his life. And guess who's coming to Sunnydale with a mission... **NOMINATED AT THE SUNNYD AWARDS for best Buffy Characterization and Best Conventional Pairing! **

"Tell me. What is one put on this Earth for, if not to kill? To hurt. To cause pain. That's what they are. Nothing more than animals. Human is a step above... well, I don't know. A freaking monkey. Primates... That's all. But time changed things. Now WE are here, walking on solid ground like them, but above the petty, helpless mortals. Feeding on their blood... taking their lives. We are GODS in the finest of forms. But since we've existed, we've also carried a burden. The slayer. One girl in all the world... One girl verses all of us? Not likely to succeed, and they haven't. But one of the slayers... Buffy Summers... The greatest slayer to ever exist! The girl is tough boys, that much is certain. But still she brings no comparison! And tonight, we are making history! Tonight... Buffy Summers dies... and will be reborn! Tonight, we make the first, literal, vampire slayer!"

Roars of excitement an anticipation sounded through the dirty building as the girl in question was brought forth. Her blonde hair caked in blood and she was completely naked. Covered in blood, bruises, and cuts. She coughed from cottony feeling deep in her throat. Dread came forth full force and she closed her eyes. This was it. The end...

200 yrs. later...

Faith strolled through Sunnydale High swayed her hips. She loved these high school boys. They were too easy. One wink and they went ballistic. But there was one person who didn't accept her advances. The one she wanted.

Spike Giles. Her watcher's son.

The most appealing thing about him was the fact that he wasn't a boy. He was a man. In a man's body. Spike was ALL man. There were things she wanted to do to him that even Giles couldn't spell. But he wouldn't even give her a second glance on most days.

It pissed her off and excited her more. But hey! She was the slayer. Born to kill... but she loved the hunt.

The library came into view and she threw open the double doors. Smiling at her friends she sat down at the table in the center of the room. Willow and Xander flocked around her and took seats on either side of the brunette.

Giles came out of his office headed to his slayer. "Hello Faith."

"Hey G-man. What's the what?"

"Uh, er- nothing really. Just wondering how patrol was going?"

"Five by five." she commented, standing up and wandering to the cage. Opening the cabinet she pulled out a sword. "Wanna do some training?"

"Hmm? Well, I don't really think we need to right now. Maybe I could join you on patrol tonight... er- uhm, watch you."

"Definition of your job." Xander commented.

"Yes."

The doors swung open again to reveal Spike. He barged up to his father and slunk into a chair.

"What do you want William?"

The bleach blonde pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Spike. And I don' want anything. Just skipping 3rd. Figure I'd come over here and bug the hell out of you."

"Well, as thoughtful as that is why don't you just go to class?"

"Funny thing that is, skipping class requires me not going to class and all, so here I am."

Giles sighed and headed back into his office. His son was insufferable. But at least he wasn't as bad as Faith. He loved his slayer dearly, but she was a loose cannon. Reckless. And as much as he tried to teach her the dangers of being reckless, she wouldn't learn. He was smart, and he knew that soon, it'd get her killed.

"Hey Spike. What's up?" Faith asked in a sultry voice, leaning over the table slightly to give a good view of her cleavage.

"Nothing much Faith." he said without looking up, too preoccupied in the book he was reading.

She almost growled in frustration but held it back. Twisting herself around the table to his seat, she sat in his lap.

He closed his eyes and groaned. This girl didn't take a hint. "Faith, I'm really not interested. And you're bloody blind if you haven't picked up on it yet."

She pouted and leaned n really close. "Why not? You know you think I'm sexy."

"Know what? Rupes! I'm going to class!" he yelled, grabbing his books and heading for the exit. God, stupid chit thought she was irresistible or something. He really didn't want to hop on board of the STD train.

In fact, no girl in school interested him. they were all so... mundane. Boring. For once, he wished he could meet a nice, sweet, interesting girl. Not a cheap, blind whore like Faith. She was good as a friend, but not when she shoved herself at him every chance she got.

It was annoying and kinda gross. Spike sighed, knowing he'd never find the girl for him, and headed to class.

Buffy looked at the demon standing in front of her. Well, to other's eyes he was just a man. It was strange because she hadn't seen him in at least 70 years. Even that long ago, nothing was different. They both looked the same and he was, once again, going through her fridge. But since he was here, it meant she had a mission.

"Heya kid. How's unlife treatin ya?"

"Not too shabby. Gotten better in the past decades. I adjusted." she said, shrugging. She reached around him and pulled out a beer, popping the cap with a long fingernail. "How you been Whistler?"

"Pretty good. The Powers that be sent me on a mission."

"What's that?"

"To tell you your mission." he said laughing. "Kinda ironic if you ask me."

"A bit. So what's the what? I don't have all day. Well, actually I do. But anyways, spill."

"California."

"You mean Sunnydale. What's so special about Sunnydale?" she asked curiously.

"Don't really know. Told to tell you that your destiny is there. There's a slayer, Faith Lehane. Her and her watcher Giles got camp set up over the hellmouth. But there's something brewing. Bigger than them. They'll need you."

The vampiress sighed. Buffy couldn't back down on her destiny. More importantly, she couldn't not go if she was needed. That was her job, keeping people safe. Much like it was when she was still alive. That meant one thing.

"Guess I'm goin back to Sunnyhell."

Faith and Giles sat on a tomb, waiting for a new vamp to rise. Faith was getting bored and wanted nothing more than a good fight... or a nice roll in the hay with Spike. But no, she was stuck here in the most boring situation possible. waiting for a stupid vampire. She'd have to beat the hell out of it extra hard just for being so late. She had better things to do.

Like Spike. He so wanted her. He just needed a little push. And she'd be more than happy to give him that push.

Spike laid in his bed, tired but not sleepy. Well, of course he wasn't sleepy, it was ten o'clock. He was depressed. After thinking way too much about his current girl problems he reached the same conclusion over and over. He didn't need a girl.

He needed a woman.

Now... where to find one...

Buffy was running at least 50 miles over the speed limit when she ran straight over the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. She skidded to a stop and opened the door. Stepping out her long locks blew freely in the wind. Taking a long drag from her cigarette she smiled slightly.

"Home sweet home." 


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy wandered around for a few hours after parking her Desoto in a safe part of town. She found a couple of vamps to take her frustrations out on. She needed to find somewhere to stay now... or should she just head to the school to wait? Nah... she decided to stay in a crypt until the next nightfall and then head out to find this slayer. Or better yet, her watcher. From Whistler's explanation , Faith wasn't very smart. Reckless is the word that the Powers use for her.

Probably would be better to talk with this Giles guy. Buffy wasn't scared of a slayer because she knew that she would win. She was a slayer for 8 years, and a vampire for two centuries. She knew how to fight, and no slayer could take her down. Or vampire. She was near unstoppable.

Almost a God.

She shuddered as she remember the words of her sire that day so many years ago. She knew what they had wanted. They were expecting to see the demon of a vampire and the demon of her nature battle for dominance. Wanted to watch her suffer. But the second she woke up from her short sleep, she snapped the leader's neck like a twig. Her sire. He was dust on her shoes. Because, for some reason, when she was turned... she kept her soul. She was more than just a vampire... and that became apparent on her first trip to see the Powers.

Restfield Cemetery... sounds fine. Slamming her foot into the locked door of the first crypt she saw, it caved in easily. Tossing her bag on the ground she sighed. She sniffed the air deeply. Sunrise in a few minutes, good. Time to sleep the day away.

Spike slammed his fist into his clock. Stupid piece of shit. Sometimes he wished he was a vampire. Super speed, super strength. Sleep all day... sounded great. Stretching he decided that today, he'd avoid the slayer like the plague. He really didn't need that in the state he was in.

He took his regular morning shower and threw on his black jeans. Followed by a black t-shirt. Then his Doc Martins and lastly, his black, leather duster. All in all, he looked the same as he did every day. Good, time for school.

Eugh.

The final school bell rang and Spike headed for the library. The blaring music coming through the doors hit his ears and he groaned in acknowledgement. Faith was training. Ok, time to go away. Crap... I came for that book. Wait a tick... I'll call Rupes. Great. Smiling he made his way down the hall and out the building.

Three hours later the sun was down. Vampire activity was going to start soon, Spike could feel it. Spike reached for his cell and dialed his father's cell. After charging the previously dead cell phone and an afternoon wank, he headed to the streets. After 7 rings the call was answered.

"Hey Rupes."

"Hello son. What do you need?"

"I need a book. You think you can bring it when you leave? A history book... American History. A text book. I lost mine."

"Alright."

"I'm going to do some patrolling, you coming out tonight?"

"Well, Faith was going-"

"If Faith comes, you come too, alright?"

Giles sighed on the other line. He knew exactly why he didn't want to be alone with his slayer, and honestly couldn't blame him. "Yes, er- I can do that. See you tonight."

"Thanks Da."

"Bye son."

Spike shut his phone and walked towards the cemetery. Nothing works off frustrations better than a little slaying. He knew that really well. Being raised by a watcher made him more aware so he prepared himself. Got stronger, faster. Now he was at his prime, almost as strong as a vampire itself. But not quite.

Pulling a stake out of his pocket he smiled. It was going to be a fun night.

"Bloody hell!" Spike swore. Why did he want to patrol tonight? Oh yeah, frustrations. Well, fuck that! No more... probably since he was going to die soon anyways. God, he couldn't even stand up.

"AHH!" he yelled when the demon slashed it's sword across his chest. Blood gushed down and he tried to resume his breathing. Why should he? It was it. The end...

Buffy wandered around the cemetery. Where the hell was this slayer? Wanted to at least see what she looked like. But no, she wasn't even here. Of course, Sunnydale had like, 5 other cemeteries that she didn't check yet. Well, might as well go find the watcher.

"AHH!"

Buffy sprung into action. She must've run a half a mile before she came to where the yell had come from. The smell of blood was strong as she looked upon the man with white hair. He was laying on the ground, but what she could see of him... he was perfection. Her gaze traveled up his long legs and she gasped. He needed some medical help. Fast.

"Ooof!" she fell to the ground after a hard blow from the demon. Jumping to her feet she gave him a right hook in the face and elbowed it's stomach. She flipped it over her shoulder and snapped it's neck with her foot. Rushing over to the fallen man she almost jumped for joy when she heard the faint beating of his heart.

Leaning in to inspect the wound she did something she hadn't done in ages. She bent down and licked the gash, her saliva binding the broken skin together to stop the bleeding for a while. Because of the magnitude of the cut, it wouldn't help longer than ten minutes max. Lookin into his eyes, she found him awake and slightly aware.

Her eyes glistened white but quickly turned back to emerald in the moonlight. Buffy made sure to speak in a soft tone. "You still need to get stitches. It'll just slow the bleeding for now." Spike nodded and she helped him to stand. He wrapped his arm around her and stumbled. "Wanna know what? I'll carry you."

Lifting him into her arms she made her way to Sunnydale Memorial. He rested his head against her shoulder as the darkness started to overcome him. They were a block away when he finally spoke.

"Who are you?" he croaked out. His throat was too scratchy to talk but he had to know. This beautiful woman... she may be the love of his life. His angel.

She smiled slightly and some of the intense pain in his chest faded. "I'm Buffy."

He nodded and weakly held his hand up to cup her face. "Spike." He wanted to say more, but they were heading into the ER now, surrounded by nurses and doctors.

"What happened?" the doctor asked as Buffy laid him onto the stretcher.

She almost started sputtering before she remembered who she was. God, she was so slow sometimes... An excuse is what the nice doctor wants Buffy, so let him hear it. "I found him like this. I don't know."

"His name?"

"Spike... uh, I'm not sure. He said it was Spike."

Before anyone could say anything else a brunette girl and an old man walked up. The man flew to the teenagers side while the brunettes eyes widened. They had came to the morgue to check out the cause of death on a potential vamp, and Spike got hurt. It was all their fault. Faith quickly remedied that. No, it was Giles fault.

Who the fuck is that?

"Oh god, William!" The watcher yelled, panicked.

"Who are you, sir?"

"His father. Rupert Giles"

"Ok, we'll need you to fill out some paperwork since she- Wait, where did the blonde girl go?"

The doors were swinging from Buffy's absence and Giles just shrugged. "No idea. Spike, who was that girl?"

He raised his head slightly and looked to the doors. His expression saddened a bit when he realized that she left him. But there was no doubt in his mind that they'd meet again. "An angel." The morphine hit it's target in his blood stream and he passed out, a happy smile gracing his tattered face.

Buffy flew out of the hospital as quickly as possible. Well, she knew what the slayer and her watcher looked like now. And apparently, the watcher's son. This was going to be one hell of a ride. 


	3. Chapter 3

Spike awoke in a haze. His brain was muddled and he couldn't feel. The pain was gone. He heard muffled voices and opened his eyes. Blurred, everything was blurry and unfocused. He tried focusing on something, willing it to show itself, when a voice and object moved closer to him.

"William?"

His father. He knew that voice anywhere, muffled or not. "Hey Da."

Giles smiled and hugged his son tightly. Spike started coughing and he let go warily. Tonight was such a scare for him, they'd have to work out a conclusion.

"Can- can I go home now?" he asked in a scratchy, hoarse voice.

The doctor approached him and the white from his jacket blinded Spike. "No, not now. You'll stay the night for observation and can go home first thing in the morning. Wouldn't want you to miss school or anything."

Spike groaned and Giles held up a cup of water to his lips. Spike gulped it down and nodded his thanks, before clearing his throat.

"Yeah, well, of course. Get slashed across the ribs and it's still not a good excuse to miss a day of bloody school." Spike chuckled and laid his head back.

All that was here for him tonight was sleep. Tomorrow, he'd go out again, hoping to find the girl of his dreams... Buffy.

The night passed slowly as Buffy cracked her fingers outside the hospital. She was sitting in the bushes, waiting to see if they were going to let him leave tonight. After four hours, she doubted it. The sunrise was starting to awaken her senses as the scent reached her. Standing up and brushing herself off, she headed for her temporary home.

All she could do was sleep, but tomorrow evening, she'd find Giles. And hopefully Spike, too.

Giles pushed Spike into the school the next morning. After a long negotiation, he agreed that Spike would stay in the library during classes until he was able to walk by himself. According to the doctor, should be about three days.

At first, the news upset Spike. He couldn't go looking for his blonde angel if he was stuck in a wheelchair. But then, the news really upset him. His plan to avoid Faith wasn't going to work, because here he was, in the middle of Scooby central. Sighing, he rolled his way next to Willow, thankful for at least one good thing coming out of this whole deal.

"Hey Red."

"OH, hey Spike! How are you? I would've visited you last night, ut I couldn't leave the house and then this morning Giles called saying you were going to be at school so-"

"Take a breath, it's alright. So, what are you doing in here? Ditching class?"

The red head laughed and shook her head in the negative. "Nope. You're looking at your teacher for the next few days. I've got a note to miss class and help you do your work, well, as long as I do mine too."

Spike smiled. He loved Willow to death, she was a great person. Missing classes for three days and spending them with his best friend sounded good in his book. "That's great. But how about we wait til tomorrow to start on the work. Still a little hazy, if you know what I mean."

Willow laughed and pushed her laptop to him. "Solitaire. You game?"

Spike smiled yet again. "Simple enough. I think I can handle it."

Willow stood and headed to Giles office to talk to him about any new evil brewing. After an hour, the card game got extremely unentertaining and he closed the box. He brought up the Internet and headed for Google. 

'Buffy'

"Results for "Buffy', show 1-10 of 14,7578. Bloody great." he mumbled to himself.

"What's Buffy?" Willow asked from behind him.

He jumped slightly in his chair and sighed. "A girl I met. Don't know her last name so this is all I got. It's bloody annoying."

"Hmm... the name sounds familiar. God, Buffy, Buffy, where do I know that name?!" she asked herself.

"Yes, it does sound rather familiar. Who is she, son?"

"The girl who dropped me at the hospital last night. Short, blonde, face of an angel."

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief. There was something about this name but he just couldn't place it. Last night, he was so caught up in William, all he got was a glance at the girl. She looked so... Something inside of Giles clicked as he rushed to his office. A moment later he came out, holding a book in his hands.

"Willow, the name is familiar. Buffy Anne Summers... a slayer. Of course, I should've recognized it immediately."

Spike's head shot to his father and he turned his chair around. "Faith's the slayer. Can there be two?"

Willow's brows were furrowed together until recognition dawned on her. She snatched the book from Giles hands and nodded.

"No. She was the slayer... in 1800."

Buffy peeked from around the bookcase at the three people in the library. Truth be told, Buffy got restless and headed for the sewers. After a complicated trip she wounded up exactly where she needed to be. The school basement. From there, it was a piece of cake getting here. Nobody in the room was aware of her presence and she had planned to keep it that way. Until she heard what they were saying.

"She was the slayer... in 1800."

Well, might as well get it over with. Faith was nowhere in sight, probably in class, and this was a perfect opportunity. Now or never.

Spike looked at the two as if they had tentacles. "Are you two completely daft? She was there, last night. Not dead."

Giles sighed. "Well, she was the greatest slayer ever to be recorded. She resided... well, here. In Sunnydale. Buffy Summers was fierce. The slayer for eight years. She lived until she was 23, a record alone for the life span of the slayer. But then, she was turned by a mass cult of vampires. The confusing part is there are no records of her activities as a vampire. Most have just assumed she was staked soon after her death. I've heard that there were a few pieces of information about her, but they were stolen or misplaced. All left is the watcher's diaries."

Spike wanted to stand badly. He sat up as straight as he could and stared his father in the eyes. "I think you've got it wrong. This isn't the Buffy I met." Spike said stubbornly.

"Yes it is."

All eyes whipped to the blonde standing in between the stacks, embedded in the shadows. The girl in question, Buffy Summers. 


	4. Chapter 4

Buffy knew a thing or two about courage. It used to be something she didn't contain, before she was called as the slayer so many years ago. But something she learned from life, and unlife, is that time was short. People live and they die. Chances are that people will admire you for your bravery, and they'll taunt you for your fear. So she walked forward, down the stairs and stood in front of Giles.

"Hi. Buffy Summers."

"Uh... yes-er, hello. Rupert-"

"Giles. I know." Buffy shook the older mans' hand and headed to Spike. "Hey, how are you?"

"Feeling much better now." he whispered with a smile. God, this woman was incredible. He was so surprised by her random appearance here that he forgot the previous conversation with his father. Forgot about what she really was. A vampire.

"Hi! I'm Willow... you're not going to kill us, are you?"

Buffy laughed and looked at this Willow girl. Something about her made Buffy remember one of her friends back when she was the slayer. She knew that if they accepted her that they'd become friends. And if she wasn't accepted, then she'd watch over this girl... she seemed like too good a person to be harmed. Buffy was an expert judge of character. Something she was grateful to pick up with years and years of living.

"No, I'm not going to kill you. I'm Buffy... but you already know that, don't you?'

The red headed girl smiled and sat down next to Spike. Even Giles took a seat, this was all very overwhelming.

"Uhm, Buffy... if I'm out of line asking this, let me know... but-"

Buffy pulled a folder out from the inside of her leather jacket. She handed it to the watcher and he looked at it suspiciously. Opening it, he gasped. Willow tried to peer over his shoulder with no luck.

"What is it?" she asked impatiently.

"These records are almost two centuries old! Some of them newer, but regardless. These are the lost records... How did you come across them?"

Buffy took a seat and shrugged. "I stole them. I don't mind being known in the watchers diaries, but people didn't and don't need to know that I'm still around. I like my privacy, so I took them."

Spike stared at her in awe until something inside his mind brought everything crashing down. Things were moving a light speed in his mind, one part telling him that this was the one for him, the other screaming 'Vampire!' He didn't know which was right or wrong, only that something was different. She wasn't like other vampires.

"What are you?" he croaked out. His brain was demanding an answer and he couldn't think enough to come up with a better from of asking the question.

"We've established that Buffy's a vampire, son." Giles said, looking at his son strangely.

Buffy cut him off with the wave of her hand. "No, he's right. That's something else. I'm not like ordinary vampires. I'm... different. Much different."

"Do you... do you feed? On blood?" Willow asked.

"Pig's blood. But I'm... stronger than normal vampires, and normal slayers. When I was turned, something happened. I figured something out too. Why they turned me. They wanted to watch me suffer. You see, the slayer is made from the essence of a demon, and they wanted to watch it battle with the demon of a vampire, hoping that it'd tear me apart. They didn't count on me winning. The slayer part won and I kept my soul. When I woke up... I snapped my sire's neck and any other 'family' I had, I killed. That was my mission for the first century and a half."

"Mission?" Giles asked, desperately wanting to hear more from this fascinating girl. How he wished that she had been his slayer, she was so much more level headed than Faith. She was incredibly smart, which peaked his interest even more. He wanted to know about her life as a slayer and as a vampire. Everything.

"Yeah, but I can't really dive into that. Anything else you'd like to ask?" Buffy really didn't mind sharing her life with these three people, they were pleasant and hoped that they found her in the same manner.

"Oh yes, I have many. But I won't ask them all right now, some can wait. Well, you said you kept your soul when sired...so have you killed an human being?"

Buffy looked down. The dreaded question, the one she hated to answer. "Yeah, I have. But not for fun or sport... or to eat. It needed to be done. But I'd never hurt you guys. I give you my word."

Giles smiled and nodded. "Yes, this might be a big leap of faith, but I trust you for some reason."

"Speaking of faith... where's your slayer?"

"You know her?"

"Saw her at the hospital... already knew her name and yours to begin with anyways. Don't ask though, that whole 'mission' thing."

Willow had a question she wanted to ask now. "You've been alive a while... ever done any spells? I'm studying the black arts and stuff... you know, for fun. I was just wondering."

Buffy laughed. This girl was fun. "Yeah, I've done a few in my time. Ever want a study buddy, give me a call. At night anyways." Both girls shared a laugh.

"How'd you get here?" Spike asked. Honestly, it might look like he was zoned out, but he was hanging on to every syllable uttered form her mouth. And every syllable made him fall even deeper for her. Amazing is what she was. And Rupert seemed to like her too... maybe he wouldn't be so upset if they got married and had kids and-

Wait, backtrack. No marriage, no kids... perfect. Spike loved kids and all, but didn't really want any. And marriage? Who needed to be married now a days? Real, true love was all about passion. Burning, all-consuming passion. They didn't need a priest to make the promise to love each other forever... especially with her allergy to crosses.

"I traveled through the sewers. You can get anywhere in this town through them."

Willow nodded, quick to agree. "It's true. You should see the cities blueprints. The sewers run everywhere."

"Yes, well... better for creatures of the hellmouth, I suppose."

"So... any big bad brewing? I'd like to be of some help. Plan to stay for a while, I really missed it."

"This was your town when you were a slayer, right?" Willow asked.

"Yeah. Bit different now though. The hellmouth is buried and there's a lot of new things... buildings, cars... telephones." she chuckled. "Things were MUCH different when I lived here."

"You said... the hellmouth is buried? You know where it is?" Giles asked. Anything about the hellmouth would be useful at this point... and he didn't like to admit it, but every source he had was dried up.

"Yeah... Well, I used to. You don't?"

"No, I haven't been able to figure out where it is... or what it looks like. Everything in my books are spoken in riddles."

"Can't make heads or tails of the lot of it." Spike said.

"Well, where's the book? I might be able to remember something."

Giles fetched a book off the shelf and handed it to her. The page was marked as she read the passage. They were right. Riddles. She flipped the book upside down and took another look at the words. They formed a picture... a picture she knew well. The seal.

"The seal of Danthalzar."

Giles looked up at her in surprise. "Danthalzar? Where did you get that?"

"Well, the words aren't meant to be read... but meant to be seen, from another angle. 'The hellmouth exists under the powers of sight, let not your mind wander to far from the point.' Well if you turn the book upside down, there's a picture. It's the door. Willow, can you bring up those maps of the tunnels? Maybe I can remember exactly where it was."

Willow nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Spike pushed the computer to her and she started decrypting the codes in order to get to the files. Once they were brought up Buffy studied them closely. It had been years since she last seen the hellmouth and her memories weren't very helpful.

She closed her eyes, trying to remember that day, the day that the hellmouth was opened and she stopped it... She could still here the screaming of the first demon that exited... the look of fear on her best friend, Tara's face. The look of pain on her face as she died... The tiny tree off a little in the distance. It was an oak tree. Just planted by the community. It was about 100 feet to her left. Just like it was now.

"Oh god!" she yelled in an unbelieving tone. "I should've remembered!"

"You know where it is?"

"Yes! It's underneath! The basement!"

"The basement?" Spike asked, still not clear on Buffy's words.

"Yeah, it's here! Underneath the school, in the basement!"

The room went silent as each contemplated different things. Willow was thinking about the coincidence of it all, and how having Buffy around was going to be good for them all in the future. Giles's thoughts were the same as Willow, only more Britishy. Buffy was still reliving that day, the horrible day she watched some of the closest people to her die. And Spike... Spike wasn't thinking very clearly. Basically, he was in love.

The sound of air rushing into the room broke their concentration as Faith sauntered into the library. She was in tramp mode, heading straight for Spike. She sat in his lap and wriggled, but he was powerless to resist her because of his injury. He tried shoving her off but hurt his chest in the process.

"AHH!" he yelled in pain. He swore he opened some of the stitches, the searing pain brought on that conclusion.

Quicker than lighting Buffy flung the slayer off of Spike. The other's watched as Buffy lifted his shirt to check the cut. All looked well and she breathed an audible sigh of relief. Spike gazed at her in gratefulness. God, this woman was quickly becoming his world. He couldn't be happier.

Faith had been thrown at least 10 feet away, sliding another five. Standing up she pulled a knife from her jacket. Pointing it at Buffy in a threatening manner, she spoke.

"Who the fuck are you?!?" 


	5. Chapter 5

"Who the fuck are you!?!" Faith yelled at the blonde intruder. Faith hated when girls were stronger than her, it wasn't right. SHE was the goddamn slayer, fuck anyone who thought they could play on her turf. "Well? Don't wanna talk? Fine by me, you stupid bitch!"

Faith stalked to Buffy and punched her straight in the jaw. Buffy's head reeled to the side but her feet stayed firmly planted to the ground. Her eyes were closed and the blood from her busted lip ran down her face. Slowly, her head turned back to the slayer and she gazed at the brunette. Faith's eyes widened when she came face to face with Buffy's silver ones. Buffy's brow was furrowed slightly, barely recognizable unless you were close to her as Faith was. Buffy's left hand flew to the knife which was firmly clasped in Faith's grasp. She snatched it easily and with her right hand, she drew back a fist and returned the punch, holding back slightly to avoid seriously hurting the girl.

Even with the decrease from her regular strength, Faith flew back into a shelf. The sound of books scattering was the only sound heard other than Faith's ragged breaths. She was no match for the powerful vampire, and she never would be. Buffy was her superior, but that didn't mean she'd bow down.

Faith stood up and glared daggers at Buffy. "Who are you?" she growled out.

"Buffy." the blonde girl said, sending equally evil looks to the slayer. Whatever this mission was, it if involved working with this... child... she didn't know how she was going to cope. She was almost 230 years old... but in all her years, she hadn't felt such a hard hatred since she killed her sire. This was ridiculous.

"Guys, I'm gonna go. We'll continue this later. It was a pleasure to meet you Giles, Willow. And Spike, feel better soon." She broke her gaze from Faith and headed behind the stacks. But the slayer wasn't done. She sped to where Buffy was heading and slammed the girl into the wall. Faith flung her to the side and kicked her in the gut.

"Get up, bitch!"

Buffy snapped. Her head swung to the side and she grinned maniacally. Faith wasn't sure was she was fighting until she saw the fangs. But they didn't look like regular vamp's teeth, they were kind of... classy, in a way. Taken aback by the discovery she hopped backwards and went into defense mode.

Buffy stood and sauntered to her. She stood in her face, not moving a muscle. Buffy knew people like her, and when the were provoked, they snapped. And she wanted a good fight. Badly.

"Faith!" Spike yelled from the bottom of the stairs, where he at angrily in his wheelchair. "Back off her you stupid bint."

Faith smirked. "Hear that? Back the fuck off!"

Spike rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated breath. "Not her, stupid chit, you! Leave her the hell alone!"

Faith looked at him in surprise. Then at Giles. He was standing with his glasses off, staring at her like she wasn't the victim. Well, she was the victim!

"Wanna know what? Fuck you." Faith spat in the blondes face and stormed out of the library. The doors slammed with a vengeance, illustrating her mood.

"Nice girl." Buffy muttered, wiping the spit off her face. Great, she probably caught something from the vapid ho. "Should be fun, me hanging around and all."

Spike smiled at her softly. "She'll come around, and if not, she can go to hell. You're welcome to stay."

Giles pushed his son back to the table. "Yes, I'm sure you'll be a great help. Where are you staying?"

"Uh... well, a crypt. At Restfield. Not many places for me here." she answered like it wasn't a big deal. But they could all see the sorrow in her eyes that she didn't belong. 

Spike looked expectantly at Giles. "You're more than welcome to stay with us for your stay, or until you find some place suitable. We'd be happy to accommodate you."

Buffy looked up and her eyes sparkled. "Thank you. I'll be by at sunset."

"It's no problem, really."

Buffy smiled again and hugged the librarian. He was slightly shocked at first, this was something new, but her patted her on the back and smiled. Next she headed to Willow and hugged her too, making sure to whisper in her ear. "Don't forget about the spells. We'll have ourselves a little party." Willow giggled and released Buffy. 

Lastly, Spike. God, he was gorgeous. Bad Buffy! He's 18 years old... I think. You're 230! Even if you were still human, you'd be almost 24! But she knew that the heart doesn't consist of common sense, especially hers.

"I'll see you tonight." she said softly in his ear, her cool breath causing a reaction in his pants.

"Til then, luv."

She shivered slightly at the husky quality of his voice. This boy... no, this MAN, he could melt an iceberg with just his voice. What she wanted to do to him... Damn it! Shut up Buffy, just shut up...

Soon, she was in the basement of the school, heading into the sewers. Good thing she didn't unpack her bag yet Because now, she had a home. A real home, something she hadn't had in years.

Buffy headed up to the house, her bag on her arm, and smiled. It was perfect, just like she imagined. 1630 Revello Drive. Her new home. She squealed quietly and headed up to the door. Knocking three times she waited, bouncing on the heels of her feet, excited.

"Hello Buffy! Come in, please." Giles said.

The barrier that kept her outside vanished and she entered the abode, slightly overwhelmed. It was beautiful. She followed him into the living room, where Spike sat watching Passions. She snickered and the bleach blonde looked at her, completely horrified.

"I was just... flipping channels. I wouldn't watch this girly show." He said, turning the television to a sports channel for good measure.

"Really? Well, just letting you know, but you're missing Timmy's resurrection."

"Shit!" he exclaimed, turning back to the soap opera. "Touché, pet."

Buffy plopped onto the couch and sat her bag in front of her on the floor. A feeling in her gut told her something. Living here was going to be the best time of her unilfe...

As long as Faith stayed out of the picture. Which, according to her dreams, wouldn't be too much of a problem soon. Because Buffy figured something out.

Faith WAS her mission.

And it's always about the mission. Always. 


	6. Chapter 6

The moment Buffy aid her head down on her pillow, she was fast asleep. It had been weeks since she slept in a bed, and years since she slept in a comfortable bed. Point of fact, the bed at her 'house' was a 30 year old futon bed, with one thin 'mattress'. Every time she went to bed, the bars from that bed dug into her muscles and cramped them to hell. But this bed, oh, this bed was like a pillow all over. So cozy and comfy, just like the home itself.

And there-in lye the difference. In no way would Buffy's 'house' ever be a home. It saddened her, but she'd live. She already had for a few decades... wasn't a huge deal.

Meanwhile, Spike was lying in his bed, fighting insomnia. God, the woman of his dreams was not even thirty feet away and here he was. Why was he here? Damn injured chest. He couldn't even get up to take a piss, much less go to her. But the urge to stroll into her room and crawl up behind her and take her into his arms... it was overwhelming.

But soon enough, he was fast asleep.

Morning came quickly. Giles was helping Spike with crutches, he managed to heal very well with the sleep he got. Finally he got the task down and hobbled around like a pro. Well, not quite.

"Bloody hell!" he cursed when his right crutch caught on the carpet and her fell face-first to on the bed. Thank god he didn't fall on the floor, that would've hurt like hell.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked, concerned. 

"Yeah. Bloody brilliant. I almost prefer the wheelchair." he said, struggling to flip over and sit up.

"Oh, well if you want to revert back to the chair then I'll just go check if you woke Buffy up with boisterous cursing." Giles stepped back towards the door to further his taunting.

"No! I'm fine with the bleeding crutches, just, give me hand would ya? Can't get up. Like a bloody turtle."

Giles laughed and helped his son stand once again. Once the 'extra legs' were in place he looked down. He hopped to the door, staring at the carpet as if it wanted to bite him. His gaze was so intent he ran into the door. Giles laughter bellowed from behind him as he opened the door and went into the hall.

He made to Buffy's room and had to sit. She was still asleep so he sat down on the foot of her bed, trying to rest his breath. Luckily his legs weren't damaged. there was no way he's be able to put up with these thing for longer than three days.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. It was so quiet that at fist, he could've sworn he was hearing things. Quickly, it got louder and he turned to look at the blonde girl who was fast asleep.

His jeans became incredibly tight as the noise presented itself. She was... purring. It was so erotic he couldn't help but wonder. Looking to where the sheet was thrown off of her lower half, he thanked god for small favors. She was wearing shorts. Spike reached his hand out, slowly as if she was a snake he was scared to touch, and lightly ran his finger up and down her calf. The purring became a little louder so he drifted upwards.

He rested his hand on her thigh and moved it up and down. Up and down. With each stroke he got closer to the junction of her legs. The purring sped up and she started moaning softly as well.

Her skin was so soft, so alluring that he didn't notice when she stirred slightly. Spike was in a trance like state, staring at the skin he was touching. How was she that tan after 200 years of not being in the sun. it was marvelous.

The purring stopped and his brows furrowed. What the..

"Fuck!" he yelled when his eyes locked with confused, emerald ones. She was staring at him in shock and surprise, shocked by his bold move and surprised at how much he affected her. She hadn't been touched like that in a century, and to be honest... it was nice.

She wanted more.

Bad Buffy!!! No cradle robbing! But god, he's so sexy just sitting there looking at me, horrified beyond belief. Wait- That's not good.

"I-I-I... I'm so- oh god. I was just- checking... asleep. And I... I must go." The end of his sentence was spoke differently, with more of an upper English accent. It made Buffy ponder something... she knew nothing about the guy who was just feeling her up seconds ago! Hmm... the question is...

Who to ask?

"Willow!" Buffy hissed form behind a book shelf in the library. Giles was in his office and Spike and Faith is their classes, now to get Willow. If only the girl wasn't deaf. "Willow!"

The red head turned around, a puzzled expression gracing her face. Was that?

"Hey Willow!" Buffy whispered. 

Willow headed over to Buffy. "Just cause we're in the library doesn't mean you have to whisper. I mean, it's a little different here, Buff-"

Buffy covered the girls' mouth with her hand. Looking back to make sure Giles didn't see her she shook her head softly. "Shhh."

"I knew it! I knew you were evil!" WIllow whispered in spit of herself.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "One, I'm not evil. Two, you thought I was evil?" she asked, looking at Willow with puppy dog eyes. "Why? Do I give off an evil vibe, cause I'm really not-"

"I didn't think you were evil. Just... a bit confused here. Hey."

"Oh. Sorry. I wanted to talk to you without anyone knowing I'm here."

"Ohh... ok!"

"Shh!"

"Sorry." Willow whispered, smiling sheepishly. "I kinda like this. Feels like a movie or something."

"Or something." Buffy mumbled, smiling at the goofy teenager. They started to walk further back into the stacks when Willow held up a finger, signaling Buffy to 'wait a sec'.

"Giles! I'm going to get some books, ok?"

"Ok!"

"Sorry, just making sure he doesn't come looking for me."

The two sat down on opposite sides of a hallway. Willow looked at the vampire nervously, wondering what she wanted to talk about.

"So..." she started.

Buffy sighed. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to know some things. About someone. I woke up this morning and realized I know nothing about the guy and it's kinda weird."

"Oh! Well he's a bit stuffy but he's pretty cool. He know lots of things so it's interesting to talk to him. Umm... I'm not sure about his age... he's old. Well, he's a librarian and a watcher, which you already knew-"

"Wills. I'm not talking about Giles. Spike. I want to know about Spike."

"You called me Wills! I like it!" she smiled giddily and hopped up in down in her sitting position. "Sorry, oh, well Spike... he's eighteen, almost nineteen."

"Wow. I'm almost 230. Small world."

Willow laughed and shook her head. "Well, let me let you in on something Spike doesn't really like to talk about. He wasn't always Spike. His real name is William. When they first moved here he dressed exactly like Giles. Tons of tweed suits... you get the picture. His hair was longer and brown and he wore glasses. The kids picked on him for two years, until one summer nobody heard from him and Wham! Spike showed up. But he was a real bookworm, I kinda had a crush on him. But not anymore."

Buffy nodded taking in all the information she was just told. It was a lot more than she knew... but there was a burning thing she wanted to ask.

"What about girlfriends?"

Willow ginned. He female witchy intuition was telling her Buffy had a thing for Spike. It was cute. For what it was worth, her opinion was that they should go for it. But not wanting Buffy to feel uncomfortable, she kept her big mouth shut on that bit... at least for now.

"Well, he got serious with one girl. I've never met her, but still. Her name's Drusilla. They were together in England and he kept dating her when he moved here. Except, it wouldn't really be considered dating since they couldn't even see each other... huh. Well anyway, she promised him that she'd wait until he turned eighteen and he'd go back, get married, yada, yada, but she was cheating on him. He had come over to my house one night crying like his best friend died. Turns out, she sent him and e-mail telling him to buy a web cam. And of course, he did. But when he saw her... She... did... you know...THAT with another man and made him watch. He was so shocked he caught the entire show. Then, he transformed into Spike."

Buffy was seeing red. one thing she didn't stand for was cheaters. She had once been told she'd make an excellent vengeance demon because of her hatred for wronged men and women. But she couldn't be because of the whole vampire thing. That was fine though, she wasn't into killing humans.

But maybe she could make an exception for this Drusilla chick. Stupid whore... god! What was up with woman driving her insane these days?! Faith now this girl she never even met? Things were getting out of hand...

A light bulb went off in Buffy's head and she figured out why. Spike. She didn't hate Faith because of Spike... but Drusilla. That was a different story. And it was Spike. In this short amount of time all she wanted to do was to comfort him and be close to him. This teenager had somehow managed to gain her protectiveness... and her affections. He melted her heart which she had kept cold for the last 100 years.

Oh, Lord.

She was falling in love with Spike. 


	7. Chapter 7

The streets of Sunnydale were completely empty. It was around the time when children were being tucked into bed, their parents telling them to have sweet dreams and cut the lights off while they watched them doze off quietly. Or about the time when husband and wives, or just lovers, were starting their blissful ritual, connecting so intimately but being worlds away from each other. Buffy walked slowly, taking in every bit of her surroundings. Everything was so different than it had been before. But that's what things do.

They change. People, the environment, everything changed. It was all about time. 

Time aged people and took their lives, ate away at even the most lively people. Time disintegrated the earth causing new soil to finally see the sunlight. Time added trees and plants to the world, it changed everything.

Except her.

She was a sea of loneliness and any hope she had was completely gone. This was what she was, what she always would be. A vampire. Oblivious to change, to time itself. Feared by many, helping to age then even more quickly than time ever could.

The biggest factor of the universe yet no one really paid attention to it. Only with death could one really find out what it means to live. The real meaning of time.

Buffy walked into the cemetery for the fourth time that night, praying to find something to kill. The slayer in her needed it and the little part of the demon in her thrived on it. She used to wonder that if she stopped fighting demons, would the demon in her die? The experiment did not prevail. The demon wouldn't die, it'd kill her first. So she continued to kill, night after night. Things didn't change for Buffy. They never would.

Somewhere in a desert, Nevada...

"Restituo somes nostri vinco , addo him tergum in orbis terrarum ex pits of Abyssus ipsum. Permissum him quondam iterum ingredior orbis terrarum quod addo per him ira. Orbis terrarum vadum inflecto ut him! Restituo him!"

The vampire poured the blood on the ground in front of him angrily, pissed that the spell hadn't worked the first six times they had tried it. Good thing they thought ahead and brought enough innocents. But the seventh time was the charm apparently. Suddenly the ground started to shake, signaling the arrival of their master.

The earth opened and in an action close to spitting the man up, he landed on the ground where the ritual had taken place. His body soaked the blood of an innocent from the soil and his wounds healed instantly. The ground went back to normal and one of the minions walked over to the unmoving body.

"Master? Master... you're home."

Before he could blink, his neck was in the hand of his vamped out master. The others kneeled on the ground in a worshipping fashion and he smiled maniacally.

"Hello boys. What have I missed?"

Faith punched the pads Giles had on his hands vigorously. She didn't even need to channel her anger, it had already made itself present. How dare they defend Buffy instead of her!? She... punch was... punch the... punch god... punch damn... punch slayer! punch, punch, punch, kick.

"Alright. Faith! That's... quite enough for tonight. Good job."

"What? Can't take it?" she asked mockingly. "Well, can't say I blame you. I AM the slayer." she chuckled and headed over to the table to grab her bag and headed out of the library.

Giles said nothing, just stood quietly in the corner. He knew she was still angry about the whole Buffy ordeal but she didn't need to take it to such levels. Buffy Summers was a good soul regardless of her status as a vampire. From what he read in the watcher's diaries, she was extraordinary. Faith could learn a lot form the former slayer, but he knew better than to even suggest it. The hatred between the two was obvious and Giles couldn't really blame Buffy. It wasn't too hard to hate his slayer.

Spike appeared directly in front of him, effectively startling the watcher. His son laughed and he removed his glasses to clean them.

"What is it, Spike?"

"Nothing really Da. Just wondering if you've seen Buffy."

"No, not tonight. Isn't she at home?" Giles asked, puzzled.

"No. I checked at Restfield but she wasn't there either."

"Well, she probably went patrolling. She can't go out in the day, makes sense she'd want to be outside during the night."

"Yeah, I guess."

Finally Giles noticed the change he saw about Spike. "Where are your crutches?"

"Oh yeah." He started, smiling triumphantly. "I don't need 'em anymore. Practiced a good while at home until I felt I could make it here." Well, that a little stretch of the truth. So he tried it out at home then left immediately. But his father didn't need to know that.

"Marvelous! But do be careful if you go looking for Buffy. I'd prefer if you went with her next time instead of going out by yourself. Or wait for me at least."

"Oi! I can take care of myself! Last demon got a lucky strike."

"Yes, and you got a lucky break with Buffy showing up, didn't you?"

Spike looked at the ground, his eyes focusing on a scratch on his boot. "Yeah, well, I'll start going with her instead. Maybe learn more or something. But I'll be fine tonight, promise."

Giles sighed. "Alright. Do be careful."

"Will do. thanks Da."

Faith peeked around the corner of the doorway she was hiding in. So, Giles thinks that Buffy will protect his son? No way in hell that little blonde bitch could do him better than she could. Ha! What a fucking laugh. She'd make him see... and she'd make Spike see. She was the one for Spike and he would see...

And for Buffy... oh, she'd see, too. (Little slut will see the sharp end of my stake.)

A/N Short chapter, I know, I know. But I wanted to end it here for obvious reasons. (Little cliff) Oh and for those who wondered, the foreign language is Latin. Here's the translation for the text... ("Restore the body of our master, bring him back into the world from the pits of Hell itself. Let him once again walk the Earth and bring with him wrath. The world shall bow to him! Restore him!")... There ya go! It also might give you a clue to who it is... possibly. Well, probably not. Sorry. evil laugh Now, reviews!!! And cookies!!!! 


	8. Chapter 8

She could faintly hear the footsteps behind her. They had seemed to pop up out of nowhere, so whoever or whatever this was, it was sure as hell sneaky. Buffy whirled around swiftly, preparing to strike. Her fist drew back ready to make a sharp blow to the mystery stalker.

"Whoa! Hey kid, easy now."

Her fist dropped back to her side and she glared at him menacingly. "What? I'm kinda patrolling here."

"Yeah, well that's what the slayer is for, is she not?"

Buffy sighed and followed his example, sitting on a stone. "You're right. But this slayer... I mean, my god, I haven't hated someone so much since... him. It's insane. And by that I mean the girl is completely insane."

Whistler removed his hat and studied it carefully. "Yeah, well it might make your mission a little easier."

"What do you mean?" she asked warily. When he started staring at random objects, that never meant anything good.

"You see, The Powers are expecting trouble, big trouble, from this slayer. Saying that you'll have to be ready for it."

"For what?"

"I have no idea. Do they ever send me with real information?"

"Nope. Always with the cryptic. Gotta love them for it. Makes for fun times, trying to figure out those riddles."

"Yeah, well, they're exact words were, 'when the time comes, she must be ready. Things won't be clear but she must follow your instincts.' Some crazy mumbo jumbo like that. From what they said, I'm thinking apocalypse kinda stuff."

"Oh joy." she said, obvious sarcasm dripping from her words.

"You know something though? I know you can handle it. Hell, you've been through a lot of rough shit yet you always make it out. Have fought the good fight every second of your existence. You can do anything, kid."

Buffy smiled slightly. Whistler was always good at the pep talks. But one thing he said stuck in her mind like glue. "You said something... that I can do anything. Like, fall in love?" she asked, secretly hoping the answer was yes. The universal pull she felt towards a certain bleached blonde was too strong to ignore so she had to know.

"I think they're counting on it." he said with a wink. True, he overheard some talk about that particular subject, and it all sounded right as rain. Buffy was destined to be put here and to defend the world. Also, to meet her soulmate. (Looks like that parts already been taken care of.) "Why... have you met someone?"

"Yeah." she whispered, taking a new fascination with her hands. "Spike."

"The watcher's kid? Wow. You know, the watcher is much closer to your age."

Buffy's eyes widened as a disgusted look washed over her face. "You can't be serious!"

"Nope."

"Thank god."

"Thank the Powers." he corrected.

Buffy smiled and the two hugged. If it wasn't for him, she'd be in pretty bad shape around this time. He helped her more than words could express and there was no way she'd ever lose the gratefulness she held for him. Buffy whispered 'thank you' into his ear, then he was gone.

Buffy smiled to herself and headed out of the cemetery. Whistler was right. It was Faith's job to patrol, not hers. So she was off to find Spike.

Spike stepped out of the shadows, a confused look on his face. Who was that? And why was he talking to Buffy? How'd he disappear like that?

Rage filled his teenage body when he put it together. Must've been a demon. Spike saw red when he remembered the hug. Well, she wants a demon and not him? Fine. Good for her. She's a demon too so good for them. Good.

He fist clenched involuntarily and he punched the nearest thing to him. The brick wall.

"Ouch."

"Spike? Spike, you home?" Buffy called from the bottom of the stairs. She ventured up and peeped in his room. "Spike?"

(He's not home. Where the hell would he be? He's injured. Maybe the library?)

Buffy sighed and grabbed her coat from the rack yet again. The library it is.

Spike downed yet another shot of bourbon, hoping to ease both of his pains. The pain from his bloody hand and the pain of his shredded heart. It amazed him how he could feel so strongly about a girl he just met. But it figured. He was love's bitch, as usual.

It also surprised him when he didn't get carded. But Willie never judged. It was his job to serve drinks and make money, who gave a shit if they weren't twenty-one? So here he was, drinking himself numb.

But from his observation thus far, it only twisted the knife embedded in his heart.

"Giles? Spike? Wills?" Buffy called while rushing through the double doors. Where the hell was everyone? 

"Heya B. You just missed them." Faith said, coming out of the weapons cage.

Buffy sighed impatiently. Apparently this bitch wanted to play games, and she didn't have time for that. "Yeah? Any idea where they went?"

"Well, didn't really ask. You see, they didn't know I was here."

Buffy glared at the brunette girl. "Really? I don't think I have to ask why, but humor me."

Faith shrugged. "Well, I think they would've had a problem with this."

Fast as lightening a sword swung through the air. Without flinching, Buffy had the blade in her grasp.

"Not fast enough, huh Faithy?" she spat out.

"Doesn't matter. Was countin on it." she smirked before whipping a stake through the air and twisted the sword in the blondes hands at the same time.

Buffy howled in pain as her right hand was mutilated and the stake landed in her chest, barely missing her heart. Lucky for her, Faith's aim sucked. She immediately vamped out and growled low in her throat.

"Fuck!" the slayer yelled and grabbed her crossbow. Her eyes were panicked as she tried to load it. With trembling hands, the task wasn't very easy to do.

Buffy ripped the stake out and threw it to the floor. She yanked the crossbow out of the young girl's hands and bashed her over the head. Her eyes were white with fury and the intense urge to snap the slayer's neck. The crossbow was whipped across the room and Buffy picked Faith off of the ground, forcing her to stand.

"You can't beat me Faith. You'd be doing well not to try." she said, repeating words her sire said to her back when she was the slayer.

"Oh yeah? We'll see. Cause I know something that you don't know... and I'll use it to my advantage. You'll wish you'd never come back here and moved in on MY property." She stopped for a moment to smirk at the dumbfounded vampire. "I mean, tell me this... what are we put on this Earth for... if not to kill?"

Buffy froze in terror. How did she know that? Faith chose that moment to land a particularly hard blow to her face and smiled as she fell to the ground.

"Buffy Summers, you will regret becoming my enemy. I swear on your grave." She laughed maniacally before exiting, leaving Buffy still lying on the ground, praying that it hadn't come to this.

(Powers, please, not this.)

A/N If you're confused about the ending... please see Chapter 1, read the speech. It should explain it. Thanks! Now review! Lol. 


	9. Chapter 9

Spike stumbled into the house, not too gracefully either, only to run into his angry father. The teenager did his best to stand up straight and appear as if nothing was wrong but he was too far gone. The stench of alcohol hung in the air around him like a veil.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?!?!" Giles yelled. "Since you're obviously drunk, you must've been at Willies. Very smart, son, getting pissed in a demon bar when your father is a watcher, no less! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Sorry." Spike mumbled sullenly.

Giles sighed and removed his glasses. "Go to bed. Now."

Spike stumbled his way to the top of the stairs until his fathers voice cut him off.

"Did you find Buffy?"

Spike sobered up quickly. When he had watched her leave the cemetery he could've swore he saw her head this way. Soon his vision was clouded with the memories of what he witnessed at that place.

A muffled noise rang out and Giles looked towards the kitchen suspiciously. "Buffy?" he called out. Spike made his way back downstairs, ready to fight just in case there was an intruder. Giles nodded to Spike and they flung the door open, charging in with matching battle cries.

They stopped dead when they realized there was nothing in front of them. Whistler was barely holding back the laughter and cleared his throat to signal his presence. Both pairs of eyes flung to him and suddenly, he wished to be anywhere else. The cold glares sent his way made him twitch nervously. But just as quick as it came, it went. He kept his cool and went back to the task at hand.

"Where's Buffy?" Spike spat out.

Whistler shrugged. "Last I heard, she went looking for you, kid."

"I'm not a bloody kid!" Spike growled.

"Calm down. Hell, Buffy's rounding 230 and I still call her kid. Don't hear her complaining." he said casually, continuing his raid of their fridge. He wasn't sure why he always did that but he didn't care. Food was awesome. Grabbing a Coke, he closed the door and faced the Brits again.

"Well, I'm sure she doesn't complain about a lot of things dealing with you." Spike said icily.

Whistler's eyes widened as he almost choked on his drink. Suddenly he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Spike glared at him while Giles just watched the two, completely confused. After calming down he finally said, "You can't be serious! Me and the former slayer? No way in hell. Actually, I was interested when I first met her, but she's not the one for me. She wasn't really looking for anybody back then and I-"

"So... you're not together? Then why were you hugging?!"

"Wow, overprotective much? Friends hug, slick."

"It's Spike."

"Who said otherwise?" Whistler asked. "Alright, pay attention you two. I'm Whistler, Buffy's liaison to the Powers That Be. And there's something big going down, like major big. It's boiling kiddies and soon, it's going to burn every single person and otherwise on earth. But first, you have to find Buffy."

Giles nodded. "Right. We'll get on it. I'll call Faith, tell her to patrol and-"

"No."

Spike and Giles looked towards him curiously. Spike took control and spoke up first, "Why the bloody hell not?"

"Fraid Faith isn't going to be much help."

Giles looked taken aback at the statement, a result of hearing wrong. "You- you mean she's..." he trailed off, not knowing how to continue. Yes, Faith was reckless, but he didn't figure she'd... pass so soon. She could take care of herself... in certain aspects of life. But she did need people. Faith was a leech... she sucked the life out of people to keep herself whole. Well, she was more like a vampire. (Interesting...)

"Not what I meant... more like... She's not part of the solution. She's part of the problem."

Buffy stared blankly at the ceiling. Something wasn't right. No, something was very, very wrong. She could feel it burning in her gut, hell, the evidence on her head from the blow Faith had landed. There was only one way that Faith could've possibly known that piece of the speech...

No, it couldn't be.

But then again, it had to be. That event and that speech had indeed been documented in one book. Just ONE damn book. And Buffy had burnt that one fucking book so many years ago... but it seemed she could taste the ashes. She could vividly feel them in her mouth. The ones of the book and every vampire she had ever slain, including her sire. And if that was what was happening... she'd need some help.

It was time to call on the big guns.

"Buffy?" Giles called into the seemingly empty library, Spike hot on his tail. They took in the damage of some of their surroundings. A fight had definitely broken out here. But the question was... where was she? "Buffy?" he tried once again.

They could faintly hear someone speaking in the distance but couldn't quite tell where it was coming from. Deciding to check his office first, father and son were shocked at what they saw.

Buffy was sitting on the floor, surrounded by various items used in black magic. Light cascaded up from the floor as she continued chanting in god knows what language. Giles saw the book on the shelf and sneaked a peek at the page that was flipped open. Dear Lord.

"Let them cross over!" she yelled, spreading her hands in front of her as invisible forces slashed up and down her forearms. Her eyes were pitch black as she yelled once again, "I said, LET THEM CROSS OVER!" Blood poured from her open veins as she vamped out and was suddenly reeled back as the spell completed.

It was done. She did it. (Hell yeah! Oooh... One big migraine, coming up.)

"Hey guys." she said weakly, looking at her old friends.

"Wow, that was some trip. Hey Buff."

"Buffy? What's going on?" Giles asked cautiously, unsure of who or what he was in the presence of. Or rather, what he had just witnessed.

Spike on the other hand wasn't worried about any of that, more concerned about Buffy. She still hadn't stopped bleeding and it seemed to be getting worse. Grabbing some bandages from his fathers' desk he kneeled down next to his soul mate, beginning the task of fixing her up.

"We needed help." she stated simply, smiling slightly at Spike who was muttering to himself about the quality of bandages these days. He really did care for her and it melted her heart. Yeah, Buffy Summers was in love folks. End of story.

But she wondered... could he ever love her? A vampire? What sort of life could she ever give him... She was what she was. A creature. A THING. Pushing off her gloomy thoughts she came to a decision. It's his life. The choice isn't hers to make. It's his and his alone. Shaking her head to clear it she concentrated back on important matter, such as her five old friends that were currently standing in front of her.

"You guys, I'm so sorry I had to bring you back. But something's happening and I need your help."

"It's alright Buffy, we're here for you always."

"She's right, you know."

Giles looked closely at the man who just spoke. He knew that face from somewhere... god, who was it? Giles gasped in shock.

"Wesley Wyndam- Pryce."

"And you must be Rupert Giles."

"Yes, h-hi. Hello all." he greeted the group and the infamous watcher. He wasn't sure that this was entirely safe or what really was happening, but the chance to talk to Wes was something no watcher could ever pass up.

"Giles, you think you could call Willow here? I want to make the formal introductions to everyone." Buffy requested.

"Of course."

Twenty minutes later everyone was gathered together in the library. Willow had swung by Xanders and he tagged along, not wanting to be left out of such an important group meeting.

"Hey guys!" Willow greeted after entering the doors. "So, what's the hubbub bub?" She stopped when she noticed new people... lots of new people. "Uh... what's going on?" She asked looking to Buffy who's tired eyes sparked in the dim, library lights.

"These were my best friends back when I was the slayer. We're going to need my help, might as well start with these guys." Buffy stated as strongly as her voice would allow. But as hard as she tried, she was completely drained. The spell wouldn't do much to her because of her vampire constitution , but the simple fact that she brought back FIVE of them... it was a miracle she was alive. Well... alive as she could be.

"Alright, time for the introductions." she started, not bothering to get up from her seat. "Ok, this is Giles and his son Spike. And that's WIllow and Xander everyone. Now, this is Wesley Wyndam- Pryce, he was my watcher." She paused as she gestured to the middle aged man sitting at the end of the table. He smiled politely and Buffy continued. "That's Tara, my witch bitch." Buffy and her old group laughed at the nickname... it had been so long. "That's Oz, he's a werewolf. Fred, the smart one. And that's Charles Gunn."

"Just Gunn." he corrected smiling. "You forgot to introduce yourself there Buffy."

Everyone laughed as they started to mingle. Well, everyone except Spike. He was currently glued to her side, making sure she was alright.

"You sure you're ok, love?"

"I'm not saying I'm a happy rainbow of sunshine at the moment, but I'll be fine tomorrow. That was one helluva spell."

"I could see." he stated quietly, bowing his head from the memory.

She hooked a finger under his chin, forcing him to gaze into her eyes. "Spike, I'm fine. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I just... don't want to see you get hurt." the bleached blonde admitted softly.

"You're adorable." she said in spite of herself. But the award winning smile she got in return was worth anything. She'd gladly give her life just to keep that smile on his face. Spike gently took her hand from under his chin and grazed a kiss on her palm without breaking eyes contact.

Xander stood back, absently mindedly having a conversation with Gunn about weapons or something, he wasn't quite sure. All he could focus on was the slightly sickening display in front of him... it was all so painfully clear. They were in LOVE!

This was just too priceless for words. 


	10. Chapter 10

Faith sauntered into the building, swinging her hips and twirling a stake in her hand. She passed several fledgling vamps as they growled low in their throats at her, the powerful slayers blood calling to them. The stake she was parading about kept them at bay.

Her dark brown hair was pulled into a loose bun and her outfit consisted of all black leather. A bruise was starting to form on her cheek from Buffys' punch. But Faith wasn't worried, before it even showed completely it'd be gone. Slayer healing rocked.

"Hey!" Faith yelled as she entered her target destination. "She knows."

The vampire turned around, an evil grin adjuring his handsome face. "Good. How'd it go?"

"Fuckin' a, man. I could've killed her easily."

"You didn't, did you?" he asked in a threatening tone. If this stupid bitch killed Buffy... Hell no! He wouldn't stand for that. it was HIS right to do in the previous slayer. The one who killed him so many years ago. And nobody was going to ruin it for him, especially not this 'Faith'.

"No, you said to wait. Was fun beating the shit out of her though." Faith replied, exaggerating a bit. She sat in a leather chair, still playing with her stake that she used to stab Buffy with. The vampires blood was soaking into the wood, making it Faith's new favorite stake.

"Hmm... you look like you're getting a bit to comfortable around me." he remarked, walking down the stairs over to her. Minions started to gather around behind her and she stood up, unsure of what exactly was happening. "We'll have to change that, now won't we? Grab her."

Faith's eyes widened as she attacked the vampires coming at her. The slayer managed to stake about five until she was knocked in the head with the chair she had been sitting in. After she fell to the floor he grabbed her neck roughly, bringing her to him.

"This wasn't part of the deal!" she managed to scream out, hoarsely from the pressure to her windpipe.

Angelus shrugged. "I don't make deals. Especially with slayers." His fangs sunk into the flesh of her neck and he drunk deep, ignoring her cries of protest. The powerful blood rushed in his veins and he smiled against the column of her neck. Soon, she stopped screaming and he ripped his fangs out. Smiling, he bit down of his hand and forced it into the slayers' mouth. After she had drunk enough for it to complete it's task, he tossed her lifeless body to the floor.

"Everyone... we just made the second, literal vampire slayer!" His human face returned and he picked at his teeth for a moment. "Wasn't half as good as Buffys' blood." Walking away from the dead girls' body, he headed off to the bed. Sun would be rising soon.

Buffy ducked into her bedroom after catching up with her friends. They had all agreed that they rested long enough and stayed with Giles at the library to help with research. Many of the old books brought back memories from when they were all gathered around the same ones two centuries ago, which made the task more fun for them all.

But exhaustion won over for Buffy and she headed back home, barely missing the rise of the sun. She had gotten the pigs' blood from the fridge and downed a glass quickly, helping to speed up her healing then jumped in the shower. The hole in her chest was the hardest to wash as the soap stung the wound. Eventually she finished and was looking forward to the few hours of sleep.

Tucking herself into bed she smiled softly. Even with all the bad things that was happening, good things were still coming her way. Buffy had found true love in Spike and some new friends, not to mention the old friends that she brought back.

Things were alright... not nearly as bad as they could be.

That thought made her pause. She remembered the phrase her mother used to use religiously.

(It's always calmest before the storm...)

Faiths' mouth was extraordinarily dry when she awoke. What the hell had happened? Did she pass out? Sitting up slightly she looked at her surroundings. There were a few piles of dust next to her, indicating the fight that was coming back to her now. Did she win? The slayer thought hard but came up empty.

Suddenly she was hit with an onslaught of vengeance, hate, and blood-lust. Opening her ears to listen closely in an attempt to figure out where she was she heard the faint sound of a heart beat. Standing on shaky legs she followed the sound to the corner of the room.

A small, blonde girl was tied up on the ground, muffled pleas trying to force themselves past her gag. When her eyes locked on the brunette she started thrashing about frantically, begging her to help. Faith tilted her head to the side before leaning down. Ripping the cloth from her mouth she listened as the captive spoke.

"Please... help me! They- they're going to k-kill me! Pl- please... oh, god.. please!" 

The memories started flooding back into her mind at that point. Angelus had grabbed her off of the ground and drank deep. He forced his blood into her mouth seconds before she died.

He had... sired her.

Looking back at the girl she grabbed her by the throat. Shock and fear flashed on her face and realization dawned on her. This girl wasn't her savior! It was another one of those... things!

"Shut your trap, blondie. God, do you ever shut the hell up?" Faith asked, the annoyance flowing through her voice like water. "You sit here, well, lay here, begging me to help... but did you ever think about me? About what I want?! No!! You didn't!!"

Faith snapped and stood up, pulling the girl off of the ground.

"You don't give a damn about who you step on, as long as you get your way! Isn't that right?! You stupid whore!"

She slapped her face harshly to the point when blood was running down the strangers' cheek. Tears rolled past her eyes and Faith stared at her. Soon, the momentary calm she had felt vanished.

"Don't fucking cry!!! Your tears can't save you now, B!"

Her human face faded, replaced by the demon. Thrusting her teeth into the girls' neck she was relieved when the cottony feeling went away. She could almost feel the emotions rolling off of the girl as she drank, but she could taste the fear. And she liked it.

Angelus stood in the doorway, out of sight from the previous slayer. Smiling to himself he knew it. He had finally accomplished what couldn't be done with Buffy. This girl was a trusted slayer, now a blood-thirsty killer. He had done it.

Faith wasn't even gone, she didn't need to be. But now, she was forced to be teamed with a pissed off demon. And they were both pissed at the same person...

Buffy Summers.

Grinning, he left the new vampiress in peace to finish her first meal. This was going to be an interesting night. 


	11. Chapter 11

Spike returned to the house to find it unusually quiet. He knew Buffy slept during the day, but the sun was already going down and she was usually watching television or messing around on the computer. Either that or showering, but the water wasn't running. Frowning, the teenager headed upstairs in pursuit of the blonde vampire.

Her door came into view. Closed. It was never closed around this time. Walking slowly towards it he lifted his hand to knock. The door flung open and he jumped back, startled.

"I could smell you," she stated as an explanation.

He smiled nervously and forced a chuckle. He rubbed the back of his neck in attempt to appear casual, trying to mask the huge fright she had given him. Noticing her small smirk he realized he had failed and chuckled again. The situation was bordering on awkward.

"Look-"

"Buffy-"

Both spoke at the same time and quieted, waiting for the other to go on. Laughing softly the two gazed at each other, both lost in their own little worlds. Neither had noticed that they had moved closer, their bodies merely centimeters apart now. Buffy could feel the heat radiating off of him, hitting her like a wave. For a second she thought she might start panting like a dog in heat, but when his lips descended towards her, any rational thought left her brain.

Spike gently placed his lips on hers and they both gasped. The kiss was short and soft, but there was no doubt that it would soon become fiery and passionate. Their lips molded together perfectly and both sighs of bliss were muffled. Spike pulled away to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear, neither breaking eye contact.

"Buffy... I lo-"

"Spike! Buffy!" Giles yelled from the lower level of the house.

The blondes jumped apart as if they had been burnt. Spike blushed and Buffys' eyes darted around the hallway frantically. She wasn't sure what she was really worried about but things just moved up a step... or four.. and she sure as hell wasn't ready to get a lecture from Giles about dating his son.

Her eyes tripled in size. Giles! She hadn't even considered him! What would he think of their relationship? Did they even have a relationship? Just because she and Spike kissed the most AMAZING kiss of her whole existence didn't even mean that he wanted a relationship... did it? Should she ask him? Could she? When the hell did everything become so damn complicated?

(About 200 odd years ago when you were called as the chosen one. Yep, the shit hit the fan right around there.)

"Coming, Da!" Spike yelled out before reaching a hand towards Buffys' cheek. He was smiling softly as he traced it lovingly and she flinched. He frowned and removed his hand, hurt by her actions. Placing a cold mask on his face he left her to stand alone in the hallway.

(Nice job, Buffy! What the hell?!?!)

(Giles is downstairs!)

(And that means you have to hurt the one you love?)

(Shut up!)

Sighing, Buffy headed downstairs with a heavy heart. She had a gut feeling that even with such a tiny wrong move, she already screwed everything up royally. She was such an idiot.

Faith roamed freely through the warehouse, unaware of the group of vampires who were watching her every move. Well, not unaware, but uncaring. She was too busy trying to grasp this new concept... she was a vampire. There was a small feeling in her gut that she was going to really enjoy being immortal.

The best part would be what she planned on starting tonight...

The destruction of Summers.

Killing her would be too easy... she'd have a bit of fun before staking the bitch... well, more like a lot of fun.

For once in her young life, she wasn't going to be reckless.

Faith had a plan.

"Hey, Giles. What's up?"

"Well, we've been researching Angelus and while all your friends know a god amount of information of him... er- they say you were the... well, the closest to him." Giles explained, removing his glasses from the memory of how close her friends said the two were.

"Oh... yeah," she spoke quietly, ducking her head once again. If there's one thing she wanted to hide from pike, it was her relationship with Angelus in the past. Well, to be more accurate, Angel.

Spike glared daggers at her even though she couldn't see them. He was still hurt from her movement away from him, honestly, he didn't quite register what his father had said. He had been a fool. Almost spouting his words of love and devotion when she didn't really care about him at all. He was just... convenient. Someone to scratch her itch. Spike scoffed, no way in hell was he going to be love's bitch again... not with her.

But could he really keep himself away from her? She was the flame and he was the moth... it was unavoidable. Sighing, he tried to focus on the conversation, all the while, his heart slowly breaking.

Maybe she wasn't worth it... maybe Buffy just wasn't worth all the pain he was feelin right now...

But how could he even know? God! None of it was fair. Why did she have to come into his life and disturb his depressed and boring lifestyle. Well, not really boring with all the monsters and fighting, but still! Why did she have to come here now? 

And why did she have to be a vampire?

It wasn't fair... and he was seriously considering the fact that it just wasn't worth it. Plain and simple.

"Black and white," he muttered softly.

A/N Yep, Spike's stupid... but you can't really blame him! I mean, things are kinda getting out of hand and the boy's panicking... so sorry to all of those who thinks he should just suck it up... but hey. No one said this story was going to be really fluffy. Thanks! Reviews are always nice:) 


	12. Chapter 12

The day turned quickly to night as the evening progressed. Spike had headed back off to the library, high in hopes of being able to clear his thoughts whilst not in the presence of her. She knew this because she could clearly read it in his eyes, when he barked out a bitter good-bye to her.

Buffy sat in a comatose state, mindlessly thinking about random things, but somehow managing to catch every word that escaped from Giles lips. Buffy realized that a question had been thrown her way and snapped back into reality; cold, harsh reality.

"Did he have any, well, trademarks that you can remember? I read about something involving a puppy... thankfully I've shied away from pets over the years."

"Trademarks... you wanna know his patterns? Or just plain trademarks?"

"Patterns?" he asked, obviously confused.

"Well, yeah. You know, what kind of people he typically goes after, which ones he'd turn, which would he kill... torture," she supplied, cringing slightly from her last word. The memories, although centuries sated, still cut deeply. 

"Well, everything could be of use in its own way... but if it's not something you feel comfortable talking about, then we can skip it," he stated reassuringly, but Buffy could read between the lines. She was the queen of reading between the lines. Basically, Giles had come up dry and needed these answers, no matter what. The politeness made him just that much better in her book though. At least he didn't really WANT to know.

"Well, the people he usually kills... he's multicultural, in simplest terms. Man, woman, tall, short... he's not like normal vamps on that part. Most would just pick ones of a certain genre."

Angelus and Faith rounded the corner and he pointed out an elderly couple walking down the street, obviously heading to their home. Grinning wickedly, Faith started off, only to be pulled to a complete stop by her sire.

He held up a finger, indicating for her to wait a moment, and watched as the two got further away. Finally, he lowered his hand and the two broke out into a run. The basic lesson- the chase is half the fun.

"I thought it didn't matter. It's all blood, after all, right?"

Buffy shook her head in the negative. "No, that's a common misconception. You see, the demon craves violence and blood, but even with the most evil vampires, a piece of the person lurks in the background. And with as much power as the demon holds, it complies to the persons wishes on the blood topic. It basically the subconscious screaming at the demon. Vamps usually lose theirs, but not before it tells it what it wants."

"So, if a girl was abused by her father and was turned, she'd most likely go after older men?" Giles asked, clearly fascinated.

"Yeah, basically. But it doesn't even have to be a major event like that, just a preference." Buffy shrugged.

"That's amazing... Oh, I'm sorry. Back to Angelus."

"Alright. Well when he was... you know, with me I always thought that I was the complete opposite of what he really desired. I thought he wanted a tall, dark beauty, not a short, blonde slayer. But then me and Tara stole his files from Wes and I found out about his sire, Darla. She was like me, only a vampire. Then after he became Angelus again, he sired Drusilla, his dark princess. I came next."

Buffy took a break and sighed bitterly. While she was somewhat glad that she had become a vampire, or else she never would met Spike. But the other part of her would have liked to see if she could've ever been just a normal girl. Once she realized she hadn't said anything in a few moments, she smiled sheepishly and continued.

"Sorry I was space Buffy, back to the point. My thing is, he had two blonde girls, right? Well, he'd need another dark princess. That's my guess on what he'll do next."

Giles nodded slowly. "Alright. Shall we head to the library?"

"Sure. Oh, can we keep this between just us? I'm not sure if I'm right and I'm not going to be throwing shit around just to have it blow up in my face."

"Of course." Giles said before giving her a fatherly hug. Deep in his heart, she was like a daughter to him... the good slayer he never had. He just wished Faith would see that she wasn't bad and get over any grudges. But there was no telling with the brunette girl... she was a total mystery.

"Whatcha watching?" Angelus asked as he walked into the couples living room, where Faith was watching their television set. They followed the two old people straight to their home, and the second they died, the headed inside to steal shit and screw around. The night was still early, after all.

"Some old movie. I kinda like it," she stated, not turning away from the idiot box.

"Why?" Angelus asked, sitting next to her on the couch. He wanted to figure out how things worked in her head, and the simplest questions worked fine. He was good at psychology and could analyze her easily. Just needed to ask the right questions.

"It's a mystery. I don't know really... ever since I was little, I loved them. It nice when you figure out something in them." Faith shrugged.

"Because it makes you feel like that you must be smart if you figured it out, right? Like, they were designed to shock you and make you think, yet you got it from the get-go. It makes you feel intelligent." Nobody could say he was stupid, that's for sure. Angelus knew his shit... and his shit was people.

"Exactly," she agreed.

"So, that must mean you feel stupid. Like, people in your past made you feel insignificant... say, Giles?"

Faith snorted. "Yeah, stupid bastard. I bet he thinks that BUFFY is just SO smart. Fucking bitch..." Faith trailed off for a moment, before standing up abruptly and kicked in the TV screen. A small shock ran up her body until she removed her foot, glass falling to the floor around her. "I HATE her!" she screamed.

"You won't kill her," he said from behind her, his facial expression showing not one ounce of interest in her rage.

"WHAT?!" she yelled, incredulously.

"She's mine. And if you kill her, you'll regret it. Simple as that."

The master vampire stood and exited the room, his leather coat swinging behind him in a familiar fashion. Something clicked in her mind as she grinned.

"That's fine for the time being. Because now... Spike's MINE," she said excitedly, following her sire out of the smelly home. "Mine." 


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so sorry if certain parts of the story haven't been divided, I don't think this site lets me use stars as dividers so I'm going to try zeros. Thanks for the reviews!**

Buffy tossed and turned in her bed. She wasn't sure why, but lately, she had been sleeping at night and during the day. Even with the fourteen hours of sleep she got a day, when she was awake, she was emotionally drained. Luckily she had taught herself to stay alert while tired, so physically she was fine.

But something wasn't right.

She moaned in her sleep, a pained moan. Spike stood at the doorway, watching her. His brows furrowed in confusion. Lately, Buffy hadn't really been... well, Buffy. While some might say that he wouldn't really know because of the extreme measures he had taken to ignore her, they were wrong. Not about him ignoring her, that part was true. But he was bound to see it, they lived in the same house after all.

Ok, so he had done a job to make sure he wasn't in her sight or company during her awake hours, but he watched. He watched her on her solo trips to the library at night, watched her as she sat on the couch in the foyer at two am, mindlessly staring at the television set. Sometimes he even watched her on patrol. He found poetry embedded in her movements as she fought for her life, saw the confidence that she'd come out alive, no matter what she was facing.

Whenever he could see her without being seen, he would be there, watching.

But something was wrong, she had been off. Buffy always seemed tired, the poetry was gone in her motions, the spark in her defiant eyes faded into oblivion. So he watched as she slept, making sure something wasn't causing her pain in her sleep.

But so far, his guess seemed to be correct.

Her dreams were hurting her.

But how?

0000000000

"It's her dreams." Spike stated bluntly to his father the next day at school. The group was camped in the library, all searching for information on Angelus and the ritual that brought him back.

"What?" Willow asked, the confusion in her voice apparent.

"Buffy. Whatever's wrong with her, it's her dreams."

"Or nightmares, would be more likely." Giles offered.

Wesley rounded a bookcase and strolled down the stairs, his eyes soaking up the knowledge from a dusty book. "Hmm, her dreams, you say?"

"This seems familiar." Oz said.

"It should," Wesley went on to explain. "Remember the last time this happened? Angelus had some... mystical amulet that controlled her dreams, shaping them into her personal nightmares. Those, mixed with Buffys' prophetic dreams... well, it could drive her mad."

"How?"

"Buffy has visions in her sleep of things that are yet to come. Now, imagine having those and your nightmares blended together... not knowing if they are to happen or not, forcing herself to try and fix things that aren't there... and the amulet has some property about it that drains the victim of spirit."

"You mean, emotionally?"

"Precisely." the British man confirmed.

The group turned silent, all unsure of how to continue. Willow fidgeted nervously, a question or comment obviously on her mind.

"Do you remember the name of the amulet? Maybe we could find a spell or something to, you know, break its' hold on her?"

"Well, er- I'm not sure... you see, we didn't find out the name of it."

Giles repositioned his glasses on the bridge of his nose after cleaning them, a frown on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Buffy was turned... before we could fix it. She came back to us briefly, to say good-bye an all, but the spell was broken. And when we ventured to the warehouse, it was gone."

"Well then! We could just get her tuned into a vampire and we're all good!" Xander piped up. "Oh, right, she already is. Oh well."

Spike resisted the urge to beat the pulp out of the whelp. Everything that came out of his mouth was negative and h couldn't fight anyway. Why the hell was he a Scooby?

"May I ask, where has Faith been?"

Giles sighed deeply. "I'm afraid I have no clue. I've tried calling and gone by her home, no sign of her anywhere. She'll turn up, I suppose. She's probably just working out her anger."

0000000000

"I fucking HATE this! I want to kill them! Why the fuck are we waiting?!" Faith yelled at Angelus furiously.

"Because..." he started, trailing off as her ran a hand down her hair. The smiled twisting in a menacing frown, her roughly pulled her hair until she yelped in pain, and he brought her face close to his, "I FUCKING said so, you stupid bitch."

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, throwing him across the room.

After the initial shock wore off, Angelus marched across the room and pulled a stake out of his pocket, whipping it with perfect accuracy, hitting the exact spot he wanted to.

Her belly button.

She screamed in agony, the piece of wood leaving splinters in her pale skin. She tore it from her body and howled again, bending over and clutching at her stomach in vain.

Angelus sneered at her. "You do as I say, or your unlife will be a living hell. I'm not your dense little pals that you can boss around and run the pack. You WILL do as I say, when I say, without question. Got it?"

She nodded, the physical torment too great to hear him correctly, but still understanding the message. Her sire stalked over to her and peeled her off the floor, pushing her into the wall.

"You must think you're so cool. Let me guess, you think you're the shit, Faith? Right? Well, you know what I think?" His dark, brown eyes twinkled with amusement at both the physical and emotional pain of his new childe. "I think you're just a fucking dog. And you need to be trained."

He lowered his face to her ear, mimicking the act of telling a secret.

"Let's get started on that, shall we?"

Faith sobbed silently as he tore her clothes off.

She was being raped and tortured by her salvation.

And it was all Buffy's fault...

**A/N Alright, yes, it was a short update, but I did update! The muse finally struck me and I got this finished last night. But when I re-read it, I hated the way it ended so I altered it a bit. I did not go into details with the rape because I didn't want to add the warning onto the story. I've already got Chapter 14 started, so send me some reviews to move it along please!**


	14. Chapter 14

"Any luck?" Willow asked Tara, who was currently flipping through the pages of the Watcher's Codex.

"Not anything that's gonna help Buffy. Some more information about Angelus, but nothing that I don't remember."

"Maybe..." Willow started before trailing off, the uncertainty in her voice not fading.

"Yes?" Wesley asked, sipping his tea and handing a cup to Giles.

"I was thinking... maybe we could just try some things? You know, basic stuff, charms, simple healing spells, stuff like that. You guys said it was an amulet, right? Well, from what I've read so far, charms are the best way to break other charms hold."

Oz closed his book and nodded. "Gotta agree. We're comin up empty anyways. Might as well start here."

"Ok then," Fred spoke up. "Let's get started."

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The blonde shot up in bed, sweating immensely. Why did she sweat? Did all other vampires sweat? God, more than two centuries as a creature of the night and she still didn't know some of the basics. Idiot.

Then the dream hit her. What was happening? The blonde vampiress sniffed the air deeply. Daytime. Shit, when the hell did she fall asleep?

Pondering for a moment, she came up empty. Wait... what day was it?

Throwing the sheet off of her body she darted downstairs. Stopping at the calendar she stared at it in confusion. It was Thursday already? Last time she remembered being up and knowing what day it was... it was Monday.

Spike sighed deeply and chugged back the rest of the Coke in his can. Crushing the aluminum in his hand he stood up, heading into the kitchen.

He stopped abruptly when he noticed Buffy glaring at the calendar in the very room he was going into. Spike silently turned around, ready to tip-toe back in the living room.

"Hey," he heard her call from behind him. "Where you been?"

Spinning around to face his love he scratched the back of his neck in awkwardness. "Around, you've just been sleeping for days."

Buffy nodded and grabbed a bag of pig's blood from the fridge. "Yeah, oh, you want something?"

"Uh, a Coke. Thanks."

She tossed the can to him and he tapped on the lid before popping the top open and taking a large gulp of the soft drink. The silence consumed the blondes whole as they both became fascinated with their own feet. Finally Buffy broke the trance with an annoyed grunt.

"What is it?"

Buffy snorted. "Everything. Have you been avoiding me?"

"Well, uh, no... not really."

"But?" Buffy pried.

"Well, yeah, in a way."

"Is all this about what happened in the hallway?"

Spike didn't answer which confirmed her question. She sighed and strutted to Spike, fully aware of the fact that he wasn't entirely comfortable in her presence right now. But regardless, she needed him to understand.

"Look... I- I was frightened."

"Of me?"

"No! Well, yeah, in a way. It's just, I'm over 200 years old, and here you are, a teenager, and you managed to worm yourself into my heart in such a short amount of time. Nobody has ever..." Buffy trailed off, unable to finish. "But still, you're so young. And- and alive. I could never give you what you deserve. So things just-"

"Wow. You really think I bloody care what you're saying?" he snapped suddenly.

Buffy reeled back as if she'd been slapped and he sighed in frustration.

"I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, no. I understand. Just... I'll just go," she decided, backing her way out of the room. "Gotta check in with the gang anyways."

"Buffy, luv, it's daytime." Spike tried to reason with her. He reached out to try and pull her towards him but she jerked away, not even sparing a glance at him.

"Then I'll use the sewers. I'll be back late, don't wait up."

And with that, she was gone.

Spike leaned against the doors and willed the tears forming in his eyes not to spill. He always fucked everything up.

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Buffy wrapped her arms tightly around here waist and wiped the tears out of her eyes. When the sun had finally gone down she made her way above ground and walked around Sunnydale aimlessly.

Her heart was pulling her to Spike, desperate to make things right, but her mind was more clear. She knew that something was off... very off. And making it right could wait, for now anyway.

So maybe she wasn't wandering around aimlessly, no, she was following something deep within her, something almost primal. Following her blood. That got her this far, now the coldness buried in the pit of her soul was taking her the rest of the way.

Soon she found herself outside of an old mansion on Crawford street. Tilting her head to the side she studied the building. Time had worn it down, vines making their way up the walls, some parts of the glass shattered.

She knew this place... but she couldn't remember. Not wanting to get anyone else hurt if she were to go for backup, she opted on the other choice. She was going in.

The door creaked opened silently, a genuine surprise to Buffy because of the state the door was in. The hall winded to the left and she followed, but something in her stomach was nagging her to turn back around.

She was about to give into her instincts when a sob reached her ears. Eyebrows scrunched in confusion she glanced around before making way to the noise.

Arriving at a door to what was probably a bedroom she stopped dead. The scent of blood heavily thickened the air and she listened closely, scanning the room for heartbeats. When none presented themselves, she opened the door and peeked in.

Buffy gasped and a hand went up to cover her mouth in shock.

Faith's head shot up.

Dark brown and emerald green clashed as eye contact was established.

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_A/N... BOOM! How do ya like that cliff? Lol, thanks for everyone who's stuck with me, and I hope you enjoyed this chappy. I know it was short but I really wanted it to end here. Let me know if you liked it, pretty please? bats eyelashes _


	15. Chapter 15

Brown and emerald clashed as eye contact was established.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" he asked, rushing over to the broken girl's side, immediately pulling her to him.

"Spike... Wha- what are you doing here?"

The shock laced in her voice hadn't been hidden while Spike glanced around the room, looking for clothes or a blanket. During this time he was completely unaware that the trembling girl in his arms had no heartbeat. The bleached blonde rushed over to where he spotted a jacket and wrapped it around her nude body.

"I was-" he sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I was following Buffy... I kinda lost track of her when I got inside."

That sentence jolted her and she stood on wobbly legs.

"She- she's _here. _"

Spike looked at her suspiciously. "Well, yeah. I'm guessing so on the fact that I saw her come in. I just didn't happen to see which way she went once inside."

"Oh... You really need to go." Faith would've tried seducing him as she normally did, but right now was different. If _he _found Spike...

Faith shivered.

Eyebrows scrunched in confusion, he lightly grasped her arm, trying to lead her to the door. "Faith, what the hell is going on? Where've you been, luv? We've been looking for you for days."

The vampiress jerked her arm away roughly and glared at him. "No you haven't! Don't lie to me! If you had been, this never would have happened!" she screamed, careful to not yell loudly enough to be heard by her sire or the other blonde vampire in the building.

"Wha? What happened? Who did this?"

Faith was shaking with rage when an idea sprung into her head. While her mind was currently too shaken by the emotional onslaught she'd been hit with after being raped, it still managed to pop out a plan. "Take a wild guess." she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air and wincing from the pain. "Nothing like this happened before that stupid bitch came to town!"

Spike backed away, clearly shocked.

"Buffy? No... she couldn't have," he said, mostly to himself. "She's been... There's a spell. She's been sleeping all the time..." :Looking up for confirmation, Faith let a few tears spring out of her eyes for that extra touch.

"Did you sit in the room at all hours, make sure she was there? Cause no, she really wasn't." Faith covered her face with her hands and sobbed, or pretended to at least.

His jaw clenched and he hauled Faith into his arms, walking out of the room and back outside into the cool, night air.

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"Oh god..." Buffy said, the words muffled by her hands.

He was sitting in a chair, smiling quirkily at her. After a moment he closed his book and stood up, making his way to her.

Buffy's back hit the wall and her eyes widened, the man of her nightmares standing directly in front of her.

"Been a while, hasn't it?" When no answer graced his ears he smiled. His hand traced her cheek lightly before striking her suddenly, blood rushing out of the open cut now stinging her face.

"Hasn't it?" he demanded coldly.

"Well," Buffy paused to spit blood to her left side. "Considering I killed you two centuries ago, yeah, it really has."

Angelus laughed heartily before his light explanation. "Well, I'm still dead baby, just a different form. Oh yeah, and NOT stuck in hell," he spat the last part out and punched his fist into the wall beside her head.

Her eyes stayed open, not daring to once move from his eyes. She feared he'd take that one, tiny moment to attack. And Buffy learned that it only took one, small second to kill, or to die.

Too bad she didn't have such a swift exit so many years ago...

Her thoughts reined back in, the silence engulfing the two into the moment. Not one movement escaped, not one breath, not one heartbeat.

Until...

Buffy's head whipped to the doorway and his fist flew towards her. She caught it mid-swing and flipped him over, using most of the energy she had left. Angelus groaned from his position on the floor and Buffy waited, patiently, for the heartbeat.

Closer...

Closer...

The doorknob turned and she drew in and unneeded breath, backing up a little, burying herself in the shadows.

His eyes were downcast as he entered. "Hey boss, they don't know anything," the boy laughed happily, not seeing Angelus in his current position on the floor.

"They're looking into charms and shit, trying to find the cure for Miss Stakes Alot" The brunette teenager placed a book on the desk across the room, his back facing Buffy, and totally unaware of her presence, he just kept talking.

"We've still got it here, right?"

Finally he turned around, only to jump back when he spotted her. Before he could move an inch, she had him by the throat, pressed against the wall.

"You... you work for..." she trailed off.

He smiled, despite his position. "Yeah, kinda funny, huh? Not so surprising though, never was one for the white hats." he shrugged.

Shaking off the shock her face hardened recognizably and she constricted the hand on his throat tighter.

"This is what's gonna happen, you're gonna cut the crap and tell me where the charm is."

He coughed and spoke in a muffled voice, "It's not a charm! An- an amulet. And you'll never know." He laughed again, something that was starting to piss her off even more.

Her eyes went white as she switched into game face. His eyes widened in fear and she smirked. But soon it faded, replaced once again by the serious, hateful look.

"Where's the damn amulet, Xander?"

TBC...

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**A/N Dum dum dummmmm! (yet again) Lol, I know you probably didn't expect a few things in this chappy, but you know what? More yummy plot twists for you! Except the Faith lying part, that's gonna be a bit of a problem. But don't fret! It won't last very long. Then we'll get deeply into the Spuffy goodness and deeper into the Faith/Angelus evil plan, well, if Faith ever starts thinking! Lol, basically, the plot is SERIOUSLY thickening right now and I'm VERY excited.**

**So stick around! Lots more surprises for you, I've got this AWESOME idea for the ending... actually, I've got 3 awesome ideas. Lol, I might just pick my favorite one for the actual fic then write the two others as one-shot alternate endings, just let me know what you'd like!**

**Oh, and don't worry, it's not almost over. We've got a much longer journey to go! Thanks so much for all the positive feedback! Puts on the official Spuffy author Review Whore hat Yep, you know what I'd like. Reviews and cookies! Lol, hope you liked this installment.**


	16. Chapter 16

In baseball, the pitcher is one of the most important people on the team. If not for them, the rest of the positions wouldn't have anything to do. The ball wouldn't be hit to outfield, the team wouldn't throw the ball to the bases, scoring outs to win the game. In the simplest terms-

The team would crumble without them.

The other players are important too, but the pitcher holds a great amount of the power. Everyone realizes it and jealously arises from those who are insecure.

But other than uniting the team, making it work together as a unit, the pitcher is also expected to get some outs to avoid mistakes during the game. They must know all the signs from the catcher and be able to understand which kind of ball to throw in different situations.

Like a curve ball.

Great move for the team on the field.

Not so much for the batter.

Life isn't too much different. Cause when life throws a curve ball, it's more than likely gonna suck for someone.

Possibly even the pitcher...

Buffy walked through the school house, gazing at the shiny stone on the amulet placed in her hand. Her eyes never left the mystical jewelry as she turned the corners, the structure of the school still fresh in her mind from her previous journeys through the building.

When she finally reached the library, everything changed.

Drastically.

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"Hey guys, I got the amulet, but I'm not sure how to use it..." Buffy stated, her stare still trained on the stone in a mixture of confusion and awe, "Maybe I should just wear it when I sleep. But I can kind of feel it working already. I don't know, what do you-"

Her question ended abruptly as the scent of blood filled her nostrils.

Silence floated thickly in the air.

She was back.

Faith, shivering under a blanket, sitting in a chair in the center of a room.

Blood in her hair and deep, black bags under her eyes.

The most shocking thing-

The lack of a heart beat.

"Oh god..."

Silent accusation thickened the air. The trinket clattered to the floor and the blonde flinched at the sudden noise echoing loudly in her ears. Recognizing what was happening she backed up. There was no way they couldn't be blaming her for this...

Or did they even know what was really happening?

Did they not see it? The stricken face of a victim and the strong physique of a fighter. Two things that didn't mix together. Could they not see through the act?

Apparently not.

Buffy locked eyes on Faith and the brown eyes scattered away from her penetrating gaze. Buffy realized why she was hiding as soon as the moment happened. To seem like she was afraid of her, and to avoid her.

Because now she knew.

Faith wasn't fast enough.

Buffy saw it, the lack of good conscious, or any conscious... the lack of her soul.

"Get away from her!" she suddenly screamed.

"Buffy!" Spike yelled while he stormed to the vampire. His jaw clenched as he did one of the toughest things in his life. "You need to go... now."

"B- but... Why?" she stumbled, looking from face to face only to land back on Faith's. With a wave of new determination she pushed past the bleached blonde, storming to the brunette.

Giles stood up and rushed to stand in front of the fuming vamp. "You will NOT hurt her again!"

Buffy's eyes slowly moved to his. "Move, or I'll make you move," she drawled slowly, forcing him to gulp in fear.

But regardless, he stood tall. "No."

Buffy tilted her head to the side before glaring at Faith. "You won't get away with this."

Faith smirked, going unnoticed by the humans in the room. Buffy hardened before glancing at Giles and then Spike. Willow was cemented behind the counter, not quite sure what was happening- but a strange sense of dread in her gut.

"Where's Wesley and the others?" Buffy demanded, her voice void of any emotion.

"They went patrolling. You'd do well to leave them alone." Spike stated, his icy glare not affecting the blonde vampire as he had hoped it would.

"You really want me to go?"

Spike looked at Faith once more before dropping his head, his eyes downcast.

"Fine." Buffy spun around before a thought entered her head. While they wouldn't believe her about Xander or Faith, she could get them wondering about Faith.

"Oh, Faith?" When she saw that the girl was listening, as long as every other pair of ears in the room, she continued, " He hasn't fed you in a while, huh? Cause if he had, you'd already be healed."

With that last statement, she was gone, praying to whoever would listen that Faith wouldn't hurt them before she could take action.

As the doors swung back and forth, sending waves of air into the room, Willow understood. And she was terrified.

Because she knew they wouldn't believe her either.

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AN Okey dokey! Yeah, this chapter was SUPER short, kind of just a filler chappy. I didn't want to drag on the argument when Buffy went into the library and I'm afraid it seems a little too unrealistic. I know she should've MADE them listen to her, but it's complicated. Hopefully it'll be cleared up in the next chapter- which I'll be working on right after I'm done with this.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering about the opening about baseball and the pitcher, it's kinda like an analogy for Buffy's life. (or unlife, lol) Because as a champion or sorts, it's kinda like she's the pitcher. Which is how it was as being a slayer. You can't just have the power, but you do have to have teammates and knowledge of the game and certain pitches, or else the game's basically over. The team didn't even stand a chance.

In shorter terms- she's a major player in the 'game'.

Ok, that explanation has gone on long enough. Reviews would be VERY helpful, my muse is super stubborn right now.


	17. Chapter 17

In usual fashion, Buffy strutted through the small town of Sunnydale, in desperate need of her friends. Well, her old friends. The people she knew that would trust her without question. She pulled a cigarette out of her pocket and lit it successfully, still storming towards Restfield cemetery, the place where she figured they would be. Even she felt the pull towards the resting area when she first arrived back in town.

Apparently, that cemetery had been around when she was the slayer, granted the name had changed and the old graves had been buried over the years. For a moment she slowed her pace and allowed the sadness wash over her in waves. She'd never be able to visit her mother, her grave among those lost beneath the new world. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes before resuming her march.

Sounds of a struggle rang in her ears and she heard the tell tale signs of a fight, Gunn's loud battle yell slicing through the silence of the quiet night. deciding to unleash some of her inner rage, she sprinted into the gates and jumped onto a grave. Flipping herself off, she landed directly in the center of the fight, smiling wildly as Gunn and the other registered her appearance. She glanced around at every angle, five vamps lookin to party.

Her eyes glazed over before turning into the stunning silver color and she grinned yet again, her fangs showing slightly. The five pairs of golden eyes widened in shock and the fight reemerged.

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"Well, that was _damn _fun." Gunn breathed out a few minutes later.

"Yeah, it was pretty intense." Oz agreed with a twinge of happiness in his usual monotone voice while wiping some vamp dust from his shirt.

"So Buffy, not that we're not grateful for your help, but what are you doing wandering around town? I should have thought that you'd be asleep." Wesley questioned.

"Yeah, I've been doin that a lot lately, huh? Well, hopefully that'll change soon. Looky what I've got." She smiled broadly, despite the crappy circumstances, and lifted the chain from underneath her shirt. The amulet caught a few rays from the street light nearby and glistened. Tara and Fred rushed to her and inspected the jewelry.

"Wow," Fred said admiringly. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it's kinda weird. There's this weird thing though... I don't know. Kinda like a.... a power rush or something."

"Well," Wesley started, also moving towards her to get a closer look, "If the amulet reversed whatever it was that was wearing you out, then the rush you spoke of could just be your original energy returning to you."

Buffy removed the necklace and handed it to her former watcher, considering what he said. "No!" Everyone's attention was re-focused on her now. "Well, I mean, yeah that makes sense and all... but it's not it. There's something about it.... oh yeah, and Faith's a vampire."

Buffy looked at everyone's faces, gaging their reactions. She figured there was really no need to beat around the bush, choosing just to dive straight into the point.

Like it had been doing a lot lately, silence thickened the air.

"Are-are you sure?" Tara asked.

"Positive. She's at the library with Giles and Spike. Oh, and Willow. But they didn't believe me, I didn't even have a chance to tell them. She's was really beat up, they think I did it."

"Well, we just gonna have to fix that," Gunn stated, picking up his discarded crossbow from the ground and loaded it with an arrow. "Let's go."

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"So, you say that you've been chained up at the mansion for all this time?" Giles asked once again, this time slower, like he was waiting for it to actually settle.

"Yeah. I tried breaking free but... she caught up with me." Faith sniffled for good measure.

"Well.. I-I don't want to be rude but..."

"Why are you even alive, if this is true?" Spike finished for his father.

Faith shrugged lazily, the pain from the bruises adjourning her body as well as the overwhelming hunger lagging her down. "Maybe she didn't want the slayer line to continue. Or maybe she just wanted to taste it... the blood of a real slayer. I.." she trailed off, gazing hungrily at Spike's neck.

"Alright Faith, we should get you to the house. You need to rest."

"Mm." the vampiress replied, pretending to be tired.

Spike watched as Faith and his father left the library. He volunteered to lock up shortly and walk Willow home before heading to his own abode. But his gut was nagging at him, something was wrong. And the only person he really needed right now he wasn't supposed to see... especially if everything Faith said rung true. But the question was... was it true? Deep down, he wasn't sure. Faith was a liar and while he didn't even know Buffy, she didn't seem capable of doing something like this.

"Willow?" he murmured quietly.

Somehow, his question was heard by the red head who was stacking a book on a shelf. "Yeah?" she muttered back shakily, silently in fear for Giles life.

"Is it true?"

"What Faith was saying?"

"Yeah."

"I'd like to think so, but no, it's really not."

Without a word he threw on his duster he barged out of the library doors, praying he wouldn't be too late.

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"Ok, in we go," Giles grunted as he managed to unlock the door whist supporting Faith with his other arm. She appeared to be somewhat unconscious but really was playing her injuries to her advantage. Shifting her weight away from the door as best as she could Giles stumbled before regaining balance, almost dropping the brunette to the ground in the process. "Come on Faith, let's get inside now."

Keeping her eyes closed she silently wished that his last sentence was enough of an invite to break the supernatural barrier.

Giles tripped on the door frame and he and his former slayer went tumbling inside.  
Yep, it was enough. Glancing to her left she noticed her watcher had hit his head on the railing to the stairway and passed out. A small gash was on his forehead and the scent of blood made her head spin.

She smiled wickedly before flipping over onto her back and kicking the door closed with her foot. 


	18. Chapter 18

Spike was thankful his injury had fully subsided. Otherwise, he would have had trouble with the run from the school library to his home. It wasn't that the distance was huge, but he feared he would be too late. Giles had driven Faith to their home and the gap in time between their arrivals could mean life or death for his father.

He sped up. Hi feet pounding on the pavement. Darting though a shortcut in the cemetery. Good fortune graced him, he ran into no creature of the night. There it was. His house, his fathers' car parked in the driveway.

Spike had forgotten his keys. When the door greeted him as locked, there was no hesitation as he kicked it down.

Silence. He listened, but nothing greeted his ears. He was at a distinct disadvantage.

He wandered inside, afraid of what he would find. Was his father dead? Would he stumble on the body before Faith presented herself and killed him too?

The dining room was dark. The whole house was dark actually, which only furthered to frazzle his nerves. The kitchen was just ahead. Slowly, he took a cautious step into the room. Empty. His eyes were drawn to the basement door. Dread consumed him.

"Hey." a whisper sounded sharply.

Spike jumped, wild eyes turning to the doorway of the kitchen where a frightened redhead stood.

"Willow, go get help. Find Buffy." he whispered back. He nodded to the basement door and her eyes widened, head shaking back and forth. "I have to Red."

It creaked. It always bloody creaked. As if the basement wasn't creepy enough normally, now he was going down there, ready to be trapped by Faith. It didn't bode well for him. He took each stair slowly, as if each were his last. On the last step, ready to face Faith, he heard Willow scream from upstairs.

He darted back up. Faith had her fangs in Willows throat. No arguing about it now, the slayer was dead. He flew at her, tackling the three of them to the ground. Willow held her neck to stop the blood as she tried to scramble away from the fight.

He had the edge. He was on top of her, delivering punch after punch to her face. God, how he sometimes wished he could do this. But now, it lacked the pleasure that it would have allowed had he gotten to do it sooner. Because now, she had done something horrible.

"What did you do to him?" he shrieked before throwing another punch.

She caught his fist before it could hit her face. The dark haired girl laughed. A heavy, roaring laugh that led him to the conclusion that she had Ilet/I him punch her for as long as she did. He didn't have an edge over her at all. She was playing him.

Faith smirked. "I could tell you what I'm going to do to you, but it'd be funner to just show you."

The bleached blonde was suddenly thrown off of her. He couldn't compare to her strength. Taking a glance backwards, he looked at Willow, who had stood up and was standing by the door.

"Run!" he yelled to her and the exact moment Faith launched herself at Spike.

Willow ran out of the house, praying to find help before it was too late for her best friend.

Spike grunted when he hit the floor. But as soon as it came, it went. Faith hauled him up by the neck. She punched him. Elbowed him in the stomach. Every time he tried to block her hits, another would land to take its place. Faith finished off with a strong kick, sending him back into the kitchen.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

Spike could feel the blood in his throat. But before he could even cough, she had dragged him to the basement door and flung him down the stairs.

(This is it.)

The sound of glass breaking hit his ears. He could hear Faith scream something, but the words were muffled into something unintelligible. It didn't matter though, if Faith was occupied for the time being, he had time to regroup and try to find something to use as a weapon. He rolled onto his stomach and scanned the room. Like the rest of the house, it was clouded with darkness, but that was no different than it normally was. Something caught his eye in the corner.

Pushing himself up, he stumbled to the corner where Giles was tied to a chair, glasses removed, mouth covered, and seemingly unconscious. He nudged him, no movement.

"Father?" he asked, voice cracking. Giles was badly beaten, his face swollen and his shirt red with blood. Spike held a shaky hand out to his neck, to feel for a pulse.

The slight thump he felt almost made him cry. His father was alive, but for how much longer depended on if he got medical care or not.

(Hold on dad.)

Upstairs, a brown haired vampire was pushed hard into a wall. Faith stood up and grabbed the first thing she saw, a large chair, flinging it at her opponent. It hit its target and the attacker fell over. Faith took advantage of the situation, rushing over and delivering a kick in the stomach as they tried to lift themselves off the floor.

Gunn groaned.

Faith was overwhelmed by a burning sensation on the side of her face. Whipping around, a cross was shoved against her cheek. She screamed and jumped back several feet, trying to gauge the situation.

Tara was helping Gunn up from the floor. Wesley was holding the cross, Oz standing beside him with a crossbow aimed at her. Willow hung in the back, closer to the front door, still holding her neck.

She was outnumbered. It would be easier to kill them all if she could get to them one by one. Or at least two at a time.

(Need to find a way out…)

With magnificent speed, she ran backwards into the kitchen. The backdoor was close.

The door flung open and a strong fist delivered a punch.

(Buffy.)

The blonde stood her ground, not ready to let Faith slip past. Faith flipped off the floor, ready to fight but not stupid enough to believe that this was the time or place. She needed a plan. Slowly, she slipped behind the counter top. Buffy matched her, circling the motion.

"Hey B?"

"What?" Buffy snapped with disgust.

"Think fast."

A sharp kitchen knife was flung through the air, directly at Buffys' face. Luckily with vampire speed, she caught it right before it hit.

But lucky for Faith, also with vampire speed, she hopped over the counter and out into the night before Buffy could corner her again. Buffy rushed to the door, trying to figure out which direction she went.

"Buffy?" she heard Tara say over her shoulder.

Buffy spared her a glance, "Take care of them."

Tara nodded as Buffy flew out the door and into the night.


	19. Chapter 19

Tara drove herself, Spike, Giles, and Willow to the hospital. Spike rode in the back with his father, trying to wake him up. Willow sat up front, a kitchen rag held to her neck as she silently prayed for Giles. Tara concentrated on the road but murmured magical words to help heal Giles and Willow.

The others- Wesley, Gunn, Oz, and Fred had all agreed to walk there after doing a quick look around to try and find Buffy or Faith.

"We're here." Willow said to Spike who was too preoccupied to notice.

After careful manipulation to get the older man out of the car, they quickly moved inside, Spike and Tara both supporting a side of the unconscious man.

"Excuse me? We need help." Tara alerted the woman at the desk, already far ahead of the others.

A few nurses and a doctor surrounded him and a stretched appeared.

"What happened to him?"

Three faces stared blankly at the doctor.

"He was attacked."

"By who?" Two men appeared with a stretcher and lowered it so they could ease Giles on it.

Spike balled his fists. They didn't have time for this, his father could be dying. He ground his teeth together while he spoke, "I don't know, I found him like this."

"You know him?"

"He's my bloody father! Just fucking help him!"

Silence engulfed the group as the doctor nodded. After instructing the group to stay there, he proceeded into the back of the hospital to help Giles. A nurse handed Spike some paperwork to fill out and he proceeded to sit down and quickly fill out all the information he knew for his father.

Willow wasn't hurt as badly as Giles had been, but she still needed stitches for the holes that graced her neck. The redhead signed herself in and sat next to her best friend, waiting for a nurse to call her back.

After the form was filled out, Spike paced nervously in the waiting area. Tara and Willow watched him, both concerned for the blondes' mental state. After half an hour, someone called for Willow and Spike and Tara were left alone to wait.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the doctor reemerged from the hallway they had led Giles down and approached Spike.

* * *

_Good thing I don't have to breathe. _

It was the only thought playing in Buffys' mind as she ran through Sunnydale after Faith. She knew she was going in the right direction, following her scent. A few times, Buffy had caught a glimpse of the other vampire, only to have her round a corner out of sight. She couldn't outrun her forever, eventually the sun would start to rise and Buffy would corner her wherever she sought protection from the light.

However that didn't mean that Buffy wasn't getting extremely agitated chasing her around. Her legs ached and she wondered if Faith was starting to feel it too. Then again, she had fed from a human recently. She probably had more strength than Buffy did right now.

_Not that it'll stop me from kicking her ass._

She halted immediately. She was in a graveyard now and the scent was all around. Faith had finally stopped running and was standing next to a tombstone, looking pleased.

"Have a nice run?"

Buffy smiled sweetly. "I could have gone all night. But if you're tired, I guess we can take a quick break." She started to move towards her as Faith laughed in response.

"Nah, I'm not tired. Feel great actually, was a nice warm-up. I just stopped to see a friend."

Buffy saw Faiths' eyes glance past her. She ducked as she spun around, successfully dodging a punch Angelus threw.

She was so braced for another attack from her sire that she didn't realize Faith was running up behind her until her arms were locked behind her back and handcuffed. Faith moved out of the way swiftly as Angelus sent a strong kick into her stomach. She flew backwards, smashing into a headstone. Buffy groaned.

"Bondage looks good on you B." Faith quipped as Buffy struggled with the cuffs. "The outfit's all wrong, but hey. Oh I wouldn't bother trying to get out of them, just gonna hurt yourself."

The rage rose quickly in her. Buffy suddenly vamped out, roaring and pulled fiercely on her restraints. Her roar continued as the steel cut into the flesh of her wrists, but ended as the link snapped. Her hands were free now, hanging limply by her side. Blood freely poured out but Buffy couldn't feel it.

All she could feel was the slayer part of her and the demon part fighting over who got the control.

Her fangs retracted and reappeared twice, as the internal battled continued. Angelus stood watching, amused at the session. Faith watched in confusion for a bit before she had enough of being a bystander. She strode to the vampire and punched her in the jaw. Hard.

_Flight or fight._

Buffy reeled back sharply, snapping back to reality as the unexpected hit landed. Before she could react, another punch came at her and an ugly realization hit her. Faith and Angelus had the numbers. And right now, Faith had the upper hand in the fight.

_Run._

She ducked and spun around, dodging. Angelus was slowly making his way towards the fight, amused eyes watching, waiting for the perfect moment to join. He was also smirking.

_Run. Now._

She knew that staying and taking the defense wasn't going to help her get out of this alive. Soon, she would become tired from blocking and dodging. Her blood was still pouring from her wrists, soon she wouldn't even have the energy to defend herself. She definitely wouldn't have the strength to attack them. She would die unless she got out of there.

_RUN!_

The thought echoed through her head, silencing the rage of the demon.

_Flight, flight!_

Buffy spun on her heel and took off. Faith froze for a moment, dazed by the random change in events.

Angelus groaned, annoyed, and rolled his eyes. "Sometime before morning, sunshine."

Faith glared after him for a moment as he took off running before she followed suit.

Buffy was gulping in unnecessary deep breaths. She didn't know where she should go. She couldn't lead them to the library in fear that her friends might be there and get hurt. An idea sprung in her head and she turned left, running down a dark alley.

Five minutes passed and she glanced behind her. They had gained a lot of ground but not quite enough to touch her. Luckily, her goal was within sight.

_Almost… almost._

Buffys' feet pounded the pavement of the road as she crossed it and headed towards the lawn. One more glance back was a mistake. She stumbled on the curb.

_Noo! Get up!_

Buffy barely managed to. Faith was on her heels, Angelus right behind her. Buffy jumped up the steps and Faith lunged, tackling her.

Faith and Buffy went smashing through the door as Angelus was thrown back by an invisible barrier.


End file.
